Bundle of Memories
by POstable1231
Summary: Shane O'Toole is asked by a friend to help deliver an item of great sentimental value to its owner, whose current residence is unknown. Throughout their mission, the POstables attempt to mend heartaches from the past and restore hope for the future. This story is followed by Excessive Handling.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: The main characters belong to Martha Williamson/Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and are based on the Signed, Sealed, Delivered television movie series. Any resemblance of other characters that are introduced in this story to any living or deceased person are purely coincidental._

June 2022

"What have we here? Some kind of album? A memory book, perhaps." Oliver O'Toole gently picked up a clear plastic box cover that encased a three-ring binder wrapped in pink fabric with delicate flowers embellished across the front. The album was in fairly good condition and showed very little signs of age.

"It's a baby book," Shane said matter-of-factly. "We need to find the owner."

"Okay." Oliver nodded. "No packaging or addresses? I presume that this found its way into our collection of unattached objects."

"Well, something like that…." Shane stuttered a bit.

Oliver's gaze pierced her.

"Okay," Shane admitted with a slight roll of her eyes. "So it's not _exactly_ postal material. You remember my friend Mandy, the one who works at the public library?"

"Yes…." Oliver prodded her.

"She contacted me yesterday to tell me that this baby book had been found in their archives. The library has posted to social media a few times in the hopes that someone would know something to lead them to the owner, but so far, no one has volunteered any information. So, they've asked for our help."

"Ahhh, I see. And you agreed to handle this case?"

"I sure did. I'm always up for a good challenge."

Oliver pursed his lips. "Shane, this is outside of our jurisdiction. You know we cannot spend our time investigating a mystery like this."

"Oh, come on, Oliver. This deserves just as much attention—if not more so—than each of the items in those bins," Shane told him, waving her hand at the unattached items that had yet to be reunited with their rightful owners. "Now you don't have to help me, but I _will_ get this book to whom it belongs."

Tenacity was one of Shane's strong suits—it had attracted Oliver early on and years later, he still found it endearing.

"It seems you have forgotten who the section leader is here. We have plenty of other _postal_ business to which we should attend," Oliver uttered firmly.

"And what exactly do you plan to do if I proceed with this investigation? Terminate me?"

Oliver carefully placed the book back on the counter and took a step closer to Shane as his eyes bored into hers.

Unwavering, Shane stared back at Oliver as she continued. "Because you know, my self-terminating days are over. I have no plans to leave."

"And for that, my dear Mrs. O'Toole, I am eternally grateful." Oliver's serious stance dissipated as he pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her sweetly, right in the middle of the DLO.

A minute or so later, Oliver lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, as his face was still merely inches from hers. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but it's almost impossible to say no to this beautiful face…."

"Almost?" Shane pouted playfully.

Oliver chuckled softly.

The door to the DLO swung open and the Dormans, returning from their lunch break, entered the room. The O'Tooles quickly broke contact and stepped away from each other. Norman snickered and Rita grinned as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. This wasn't the first time—nor would it be the last—that one couple witnessed a little affection between the other. With two married couples working in the same space, it was bound to happen occasionally.

Shane caught Rita and Norman up to speed regarding the baby book, then picked it up and removed it from the case.

"Mandy told me that this is not your average baby book. She said there are lots of photographs and other special memories in here—that someone had really put some time into it."

Shane opened the thick album to the first page.

"'It's a Girl….' Well, that was a little obvious from the cover," Shane mentioned with a smile. "Name: Victoria Rose McKnight. Date of birth: December 31, 1992."

"Ooh, a New Year's Eve baby," Rita piped up.

"Last-minute tax deduction," Norman suggested, and they giggled.

"Here's her family tree," Shane stated, after turning the page.

Oliver leaned in to take a look. "It seems that her father's name is Martin Samuel McKnight, and her mother's name is Patricia Gallimore McKnight."

"And there are grandparents listed, too," Shane added. She stood up and walked over to her laptop. "With this much information, it shouldn't be too difficult to locate Victoria. I'll just run a search for her now." Shane stared intently at her screen.

A couple of minutes later, she sighed. "I'm coming up empty."

"You _did_ check social media?" Oliver inquired.

"Oh, yes," Shane responded drearily. "Let me try the parents."

A few seconds later, some information popped up on the screen. "Okay, here we go. Patricia Gallimore McKnight. Died on August 13, 1994."

"Oh, my goodness. That means that Victoria was not even two years old when she lost her mother," Norman calculated.

"That's so sad," Rita muttered. "What about the dad?"

"Unfortunately, he's gone, too," Shane declared wistfully. "He passed away on June 19, 2011, at Denver Mercy Hospital."

"Oh, dear. So by the time she was 18 years old, she had lost her father as well?" Rita asked.

Shane nodded solemnly. "Since this is not official postal business, I'll do more searching when I can and report back with an update later on. Uh, with Oliver's approval, of course." She raised her eyebrows questioningly as she looked to their boss.

"I have no argument with that—as long as our other duties are not being neglected."

Shane smiled satisfactorily and cast her husband a loving look. "Thank you, Oliver."

Oliver grinned and shook his head. He knew how much it meant to his wife to solve a mystery, and she was not likely to let go of this one, no matter what anyone said.


	2. Chapter 2

For the rest of the afternoon, the POstables focused on their regular duties, but Shane couldn't help but be drawn back to the baby book from time to time. As she continued with her search, she discovered that each of Victoria's grandparents was deceased as well. With this knowledge, and nothing else to go on, Shane decided to turn her full attention to pinpointing the whereabouts of Victoria herself.

"So?" Rita asked, as they were getting ready to leave the office that evening. "Any progress?"

"Not so much," Shane grimaced. "The grandparents all passed away years ago, before Victoria was even born. So, according to her family tree, it appears that she's all that's left of her biological family."

"Ahh," said Norman. "I know the feeling. Well….at least I remember how it felt before I met my grandmother."

Rita placed her hand on Norman's shoulder. "Maybe Victoria has been blessed with an entirely new family, just like you."

Norman smiled and covered Rita's hand with his. "I sure hope so."

After leaving the DLO, the O'Tooles and Dormans went to the Mailbox Grille and enjoyed an evening chatting over dinner. Their friendships had grown even stronger over the last few years as they all supported each other in their early years of marriage. There had been ups and downs as they navigated into unchartered newlywed territory, but because of their deep-rooted commitments to their spouses and the encouragement they each offered one another within their group, they always made it past the bumps in the road.

A few minutes into their dinner, Oliver noticed that Shane kept moving her fork around in her food, but nothing had actually made it to her mouth.

"Are you planning to eat?" Oliver asked her.

"What?" Shane looked up from her plate with a puzzled look.

"Are you planning to eat?" he repeated.

"Oh. Yes, that was the plan." Shane sighed, putting down her fork. "But for some reason I don't feel very hungry right now. I just cannot make sense of the fact that Victoria has no online presence. It's like she doesn't even exist."

"Well, one does not have to be online to exist," Oliver asserted.

"Another famous Oliver quote. You know, maybe _I'll_ start a book to record your witty wisdom," Shane quipped with a laugh.

Despite his wife's sarcasm, Oliver looked quite pleased with himself.

"So, I have a baby book," Rita blurted out.

The other three looked at her in surprise.

Norman swallowed a bite of food. "You do?"

"Uh-huh," she answered. "My mom actually made mine herself! She created it out of a regular scrapbook album. I think there are more flowers and peace signs in there than anything else." She almost snorted. "It's always been fun to look at, though, and it's even more special to me now that she's gone." Rita looked down at her plate and bit her lower lip, and Norman took Rita's hand under the table of the booth.

Shane and Oliver looked at Rita with sympathy.

"Aww, Rita," Shane spoke up. "I'm so glad she did that for you! I know it means a lot. I don't think my mom ever made a baby book for my sister or me," she added, shrugging her shoulder nonchalantly.

Oliver remarked, "Well, I can say with certainty that I don't have one. My dad has boxes of photographs that were never put into albums, but that's all."

Shane lit up. "Ohhh, I would _love_ to see some more pictures of little Oliver…."

Oliver grinned sheepishly. "Next time we're at Dad's, I'll gather them for you."

"I don't have anything from my childhood," Norman commented with despair. It was Rita's turn to console him. "But those days weren't exactly the happiest times of my life," he continued. "The last few years have been the best. It's great to be a POstable."

"Yes, Norman. Yes, it is," Oliver agreed, with Shane and Rita chiming in as well.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, when the O'Tooles walked into the DLO, Shane headed straight for the baby book.

"I can't track Victoria down. We need more information. Which means, we'll have to keep turning the pages until we have something else to go on."

"Good morning, Norman and Rita," Oliver greeted his colleagues, casting a sideways glance at Shane, with an eyebrow raised in slight disapproval.

"Good morning!" they returned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me. Good morning, you two!" Shane told the Dormans apologetically as she began thumbing through the first few pages in the album.

"Shane spent the majority of the evening trying to locate our person of interest," Oliver explained.

"Yes, but all I had was her name and date of birth. I should have taken the album home with me."

"That would have been a violation of…. Oh, never mind," Norman stopped himself.

"Exactly. No violation because this is not postal business," Shane pointed out. "I'm so accustomed to leaving items here that it never even occurred to me to take the book home."

"It's probably a good thing that you didn't." Turning to Norman and Rita, he informed them, "She was up well past midnight as it was."

"If I had had the book with me, I might have been able to find some information to lead me to her," Shane retorted as she was scanning the next page. "Okay, let's see. Victoria was born at Rose Medical Center—I had discovered that in my search of birth records last night. So we have a full name, date of birth, place of birth, and names of parents and grandparents. And none of that is leading us _anywhere_. So let's move on past this family tree."

"How old would she be now?" Rita inquired.

"She was born at the end of 1992," Norman supplied. "So that would make her 29 now."

"So, she could be married. And if she did marry, her last name could have changed," Rita suggested.

"Right," Shane agreed. "And I think that could very well be the problem. I'm not finding anything with her maiden name, and without a hint of her married name, I don't know how to continue my search. Which is why I am back to the drawing board, looking for clues. Mandy said there are a ton of pictures, so maybe those will help."

Shane guided them through the next few pages of the album. There were plenty of baby's firsts, as well as pictures and other special items stuck behind clear page protectors, including Victoria's hospital baby bracelet and even her first baby tooth.

"Wow! Victoria's mom spent sooo much time making this book special for her," Rita marveled, as she glanced over the milestones, each filled in with the appropriate date and age at which it was achieved.

"No, I don't think so," Norman challenged.

He was met with three expressions of utter shock.

"I—I'm not saying that it's not special. But the handwriting clearly indicates a male, in his late thirties, maybe early forties," Norman explained. "None of the writing so far has been a female's."

"Maybe her father was responsible for putting all of this together…." Oliver pondered.

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Shane concurred. "We've determined that Victoria's mother passed when Victoria was just a baby. Some of these milestones happened much later. Here she is on her first birthday, her second, third, fourth, and fifth. Oh, and look—her first day of Kindergarten. That is the sweetest picture! See her standing in front of her school with her little backpack on."

They all leaned in to take a look.

"Oh, wow!" Rita exclaimed. "I recognize that elementary school. It's in Vail."

"Really?" Shane expressed a mixture of excitement and relief.

"Yep!" Rita replied. "Mountain Ridge Elementary."

"Okay, the pieces of this puzzle are starting to come together a little. According to what I had found when researching Victoria's family, Vail is one of a few towns in which both her father and mother had lived at some point. How far is Vail from Denver?" Shane asked.

"96.8 miles," Norman rattled off.

"Hmmm….not exactly just down the road," Shane mused. "Victoria would have started Kindergarten in about 1998. A lot could have changed between now and then. I'd like to have something more recent to go on. Let's keep looking."

With the exception of the first day of Kindergarten picture, the album contained numerous baby and childhood photos of unknown locations. There were even a couple of pictures from high school proms—also at unknown locations—but nothing regarding a graduation. According to the POstables' calculations, Victoria's father had passed only a couple of weeks after she should have graduated from high school, which would probably account for the fact that this special event was missing from the album entirely.

After the team spent some time inspecting the photos with no new revelations, Shane told her fellow POstables, "Well, it looks like we are back to Mountain Ridge. I think this is a pretty good starting point, though. Oliver, I propose we take a little road trip and see if we can find someone who knew the McKnights back then—or maybe even someone who knows Victoria now."

"Follow the trail of breadcrumbs," Norman commented.

"Absolutely. Vail is a much smaller town than Denver. Someone there has to know something about this family," Shane insisted with an ear-to-ear grin.

"That sounds like a plan," Oliver answered with approval. "You and I will take off tomorrow to conduct interrogations in Vail. Norman and Rita, we'll entrust you to hold down the fort while we are away."

"We'll do our very best," Norman promised, as Rita nodded in agreement.

"Of course," Oliver acknowledged, with a smile and a nod. "You always do."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Oliver and Shane set out early for Vail. They had decided that the best place to start would be the elementary school itself. They knew Victoria had started Kindergarten at Mountain Ridge Elementary School circa 1998. Beyond that, they didn't really know anything.

Oliver held the door open for Shane, and they entered the front of the building and walked into the office area.

"Hello!" a cheery voice called out from behind the counter. "Are you here for Kindergarten registration?"

"Uh, n-no," Oliver stammered in response, as Shane looked away and put her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. He knit his brow and continued. "My name is Oliver O'Toole, and this is my wife, Shane. We are from the United States Postal Service. We work in the Dead Letter Office, and we are trying to track down the owner of an important family album that was recently brought to our department."

"Technically, it's a baby book," Shane amended.

"Yes, technically," Oliver concurred, casting a nostalgic glance at his partner. Shane's eyes twinkled and he continued. "We're looking for a woman who attended Kindergarten here in the late 1990's, possibly 1998 to '99. Her name is Victoria Rose McKnight. Does that sound familiar to you?"

The petite brunette thought about it for a few seconds, then answered, "No, I don't think so. I can't recall a Victoria. I've been the secretary here since 2002, which probably would have been right around the time she moved to the middle school. But our principal was actually teaching here around that time and might remember. Let me see if she's available. Give me just one minute."

"Sure," Shane approved with a smile.

The secretary disappeared down the corridor to the administrators' offices. Less than a minute later, she returned with the principal, a tall middle-aged woman with a confident demeanor, who joined the O'Tooles out in the waiting area. After introductions were made, Oliver once again explained the reason for their visit.

"I remember her," the principal affirmed, her face beaming. "She was one of my Kindergarten babies. That was my very first year to teach, actually. I'll never forget that sweet group of kiddos, but Victoria—well, she had my heart. Her father was widowed. I believe I had heard that her mother was involved in a car accident when Victoria was just a toddler. It was hard for me not to pay her a little more attention, you know, since she was an only child without her mother. She was such a smart little girl with the best behavior—her Daddy was doing a fantastic job of raising her."

Both Shane and Oliver listened intently to the woman's recollection, then Shane wondered, "Did she graduate from this school system?"

"No, they moved out of town." The woman appeared thoughtful for a moment. "It seems that he got a job transfer or maybe a new job. I remember Victoria coming to hug me goodbye—she must have been in the second grade by that point. That was the last time I saw her. Years later, though, I received a graduation announcement from her in the mail. I sent her a note of congratulations and a gift. I was thrilled that she even remembered me."

"I'm sure you truly made a difference in her life," Shane commended her.

"Aww, well," the principal responded, "I hope so—that's what it's all about. But she was so easy to love."

"Do you happen to remember where she lived when she graduated?" Oliver inquired.

"I'm sorry—I don't. I'm thinking that they were still somewhere in Colorado, but I'm not positive," the woman told them regretfully.

"That's okay," Shane assured her.

"You know," the woman pondered, "the McKnights lived in the two-story house on the corner of Main Street and Forest Avenue. Maybe some of the neighbors might know something?"

"That is certainly worth a try! Thank you!" Shane expressed brightly.

"We are quite grateful for your assistance," Oliver added.

"I sure do hope you find her," she commented as they began to depart.

"Thank you. So do we," Shane replied, and the pair stepped out into a gorgeous sunny day filled with hope.


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver and Shane left the elementary school and traveled a couple of miles to find the McKnights' former residence. When they reached the intersection of Main and Forest, Shane pointed it out.

"There it is! That's their house. I remember it from the picture that was in the album—the one taken when they brought their baby home from the hospital." Shane sighed as she admired the elegant Victorian style home. Oliver parked the car on the street in front of the residence, then he quietly observed his wife for several seconds before she snapped out of her daydream.

They began their interrogations with the neighbors on one side and then the other, but the families who currently lived there had moved into the community within the past few years and did not know the McKnights.

"Well, there are a few more houses in this neighborhood. We just need to find someone who has lived here for twenty-two years or more," Oliver stated.

"Right. Let's go….this way," Shane pointed as she took off bustling down the sidewalk. Oliver hurried behind her and was by her side a few seconds later.

"Um, why are we bypassing these houses?" Oliver questioned her.

Shane halted and turned toward him, her eyebrows raised, implying that he should know the answer to that question.

"See the toys in these yards? The swing sets, the children's bicycles….and those adorable little ones playing with the water hose?"

"So?" Oliver was confused.

"I'm just thinking that maybe those houses belong to younger families who probably haven't lived here for twenty-two years. But take a look at the silver-haired lady watering her flowers a few houses down. She's more likely to have been around when the McKnights lived here. Let's cut to the chase," she advised, winking at him.

"You are very good at this, Mrs. O'Toole," Oliver praised her, amazed.

"Ahh, don't give me too much credit just yet. But I sure do have a good feeling about this. Come on!"

A minute later, they approached the slim, sun-tanned lady who was busy tending to her plants.

"Excuse me," Shane spoke out, closing the distance between them.

"Why, hello there!" The lady, who appeared to be in her early 70s, took off her gardening gloves and brushed a stray leaf from her shoulder.

"Good morning, ma'am. We are from the United States Postal Service. We work in the Dead Letter Office. My name is Oliver O'Toole, and this is my wife, Shane."

"I'm Clarice Haslett. Nice to meet you," she welcomed them with a warm smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. We don't mean to intrude, but we are trying to locate a young lady who lived in that two-story house back in the 90s," Oliver disclosed, pointing toward the corner of Main and Forest. "She would have been a small child at the time."

The woman turned in that direction, a faraway look in her eyes as she nodded. "Tori Rose," she muttered feebly.

Shane glanced at Oliver, unsure of what to do next. It was evident that Clarice had more than just a neighborly connection with Victoria. Before they could say a word, she turned back to the O'Tooles and smiled dismally.

"We considered her our granddaughter—she even called us 'Nana' and 'Pop'. She didn't have any grandparents of her own. And then her mother—oh, sweet Patti. I remember that dreadful night vividly, as much as I wish I could erase it from memory."

The O'Tooles stared at Clarice, bracing themselves for the account of Victoria's mother's passing.

"Victoria was just a baby. I was keeping her for Martin and Patti to go out to dinner. They were on their way home and only a few miles down the road when a pickup truck ran a stop sign and crushed the passenger side of their vehicle. Patti was gone instantly. Martin suffered quite a few broken bones and recovered from his injuries a few months later, but he was never the same Martin that we knew before. A few years later, he was transferred to another location for work, and he never looked back. It probably was for the best. So much here reminded him of Patti. But that little girl….she was the spitting image of her mom. Just beautiful."

Shane couldn't hold back the tears, nor could she utter a word. Oliver placed his hand on her lower back to comfort her.

"Oh, dear," Clarice apologized. "I'm terribly sorry. I'm not sure why I told you all of that. I think of that sweet family quite often, but I haven't talked about the accident in years."

Shane shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "No, I'm glad you did. It's just terribly tragic."

"It is. But unfortunately, so many things in life are beyond our control. We all would have brought Patti back in an instant if we could have. She loved Martin, and she loved that baby girl. Of course, Martin loved Victoria just as much as her mother had loved her. After the accident, Martin didn't take the time he needed to heal. He picked up the pieces and kept on moving, for Victoria's sake. As a single father, he took better care of that precious girl than _any_ set of parents ever could. Patti would have been extremely proud."

Shane blew out a breath and shifted on her feet, the warm rays of the sun bearing down on her.

"Honey, why don't y'all come in from this heat? I have lemonade and some sodas."

Shane's eyes pleaded with Oliver to consent. He had noticed her discomfort.

"Thank you, Mrs. Haslett," he accepted. "We do have questions, if you're up to it."

"No bother at all," she guaranteed. "And please, call me Clarice. Come on inside and cool off a bit. I was getting ready for a break myself."


	6. Chapter 6

A few minutes later, the O'Tooles were seated on the couch in a cool, comfortable living room. Shane was relieved.

Clarice had gone into the kitchen to retrieve the beverages.

Oliver reached up with one hand and gently massaged the back of his wife's neck, whispering, "Are you okay?"

Shane looked into his gentle eyes. They were filled with concern and love for her. "I am. This is just a lot to take in."

Oliver nodded and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

Shane gave him a weak smile and placed her hand just above his knee. "I love you, too."

"So, you two must have a pretty good reason for traveling out here from Denver looking for Tori," Clarice suggested as she came back into the living area. She served them their drinks and took a seat in an oversized chair opposite the couple.

"We do. We have recovered a personal item that we believe will be of great sentimental value to her," Oliver explained.

Clarice raised her eyebrows, intrigued.

"It's a baby book," Shane offered. "But it's so much more than that. There are pages and pages of photographs and special items throughout the album. It's a record of Victoria's infancy, childhood, and even parts of her teenage years. We have determined that Martin put this together for his daughter, and we really need to get it to her."

"Wow," Clarice interjected.

Oliver continued with their dilemma. "The problem is, we can't seem to locate her. The only reason we were able to trace her to Vail was because of a Kindergarten picture taken in front of a local elementary school. Do you happen to know where she is currently?"

"I don't." Clarice sighed. "After they moved away, we kept in touch through letters here and there as she was growing up. About 11 years ago, right after she graduated from high school, she phoned me to let me know that Martin had passed. I offered to let her come stay with us for a while, seeing as how she had no family remaining. She assured me that everything had been taken care of and that she would soon be getting ready to move into the dorm and start her freshman year of college.

"She was only 18, and I remember thinking how hard that must be, to face the world all alone and so young. She was strong and independent, but I know it all affected her so much more than she let on.

"Dalbert and I drove to Denver for the funeral." Clarice paused. "That was the last time I saw her in person, though I talked to her several times after that. We also exchanged Christmas and birthday cards each year, as well as a few notes in between."

"Did you receive a Christmas card this past year?" Oliver questioned.

"Yes, I did, but the return address will probably be useless."

"Why is that?" Shane wanted to know.

"Let me get my collection and I'll show you."

A minute later, Clarice made her way back into the living room with a small box full of mail that she had received over the years. Oliver and Shane sat on the edge of the couch as she pulled out a stack of envelopes and laid them on the coffee table in front of the couple.

"These are the ones since she graduated from college. Every single one of these has a different return address," Clarice informed the couple.

The O'Tooles sifted through the envelopes, then looked back at Clarice with puzzled expressions.

"Oh my—that is a whole lot of moves." Shane was flabbergasted.

Oliver furrowed his brow. He was not able to make sense of it either.

"I'm wondering if she really did move that many times—or if she just kept making up her return address to keep her actual address private. I sent her a number of cards that came back marked 'Return to Sender', 'Not Deliverable as Addressed', 'Unable to Forward'. One time when she called, I brought up the fact that she was on the move a lot—but she just laughed and said it kept life interesting.

"On a somewhat related note," Clarice continued, "the day her father was buried, I had made her promise me one thing: to invite us to her wedding. She assured me that she would. Now either she hasn't married yet, or she broke her vow to me. These greeting cards have come in every year, but there has been no wedding invitation."

"Hmmm…." Shane was deep in thought. "What about the phone calls?"

"She gave me her number a couple of times years ago, but the number was constantly being disconnected. Whenever we did talk, she would call me, and it would be from a different number every time. If I questioned her about it, she would tell me that she lost or damaged her phone and had to get a new one. The calls stopped entirely three or four years ago."

Silence ensued as Oliver and Shane tried their best to process it all—to make some sense out of the chaos that was Victoria's life. One thing seemed certain: Victoria was either running or hiding, or possibly both. But why?


	7. Chapter 7

As Oliver and Shane strolled leisurely back down the sidewalk toward their car, Shane did a great deal of thinking out loud.

"So what do we know so far? Victoria's mom died when Victoria was a toddler, she and her dad moved to the greater Denver area when she was in elementary school, her dad died shortly after her high school graduation, she attended the University of Colorado, and she's kept in touch with the Hasletts somewhat since then—but with a whole lot of random phone numbers and return addresses?"

"I believe that just about sums it up," Oliver concurred solemnly.

"Why so many moves? Her letters to Clarice indicate that she has been living in at least three or four different locations a year—and all over the country at that. I'm beginning to wonder if she has been the victim or witness of criminal activity—or worse, a criminal herself…." Shane's voice level began to rise in frustration and worry. "I feel like something is wrong. What if she is all alone? What if she's in trouble and is afraid to ask for help? We have to find her, Oliver—we have to!"

"Shane." Oliver stopped and turned toward her, taking her hand in his. "You shouldn't assume the worst. Maybe she's fine—or better than fine. Maybe she enjoys traveling to various destinations. Maybe she has an abundance of friends, or a boyfriend, or a whole family of her own by now. You have to hope for the best, and trust that God will allow our paths to cross at just the right moment. I know you're discouraged because we don't know where to find her. But He knows, Shane. Just relax and let Him handle those details that we can't."

Shane leaned in and kissed Oliver on the cheek. "You always know how to reel me back in when my passion goes into overdrive."

"Passion is not always a bad thing," he replied, winking at her, his boyish charm making her weak in the knees.

They continued down the sidewalk, still holding hands. As they passed by the next few houses, they observed as children played and squealed with laughter. A toddler ran around in a yard wearing only a diaper, the dad chasing close behind. Shane's heart melted at the scene before her as the father scooped the child up into a bear hug.

Closer to the McKnights' former home, a couple of children—a little girl with curly blond hair and her younger brother, the O'Tooles assumed—had set up a makeshift lemonade stand.

"Hello!" the girl greeted them cheerily. "Would you like some lemonade?" The brown-haired boy appeared too shy to make eye contact, much less say a single word. He was staring at the ground but stole a few peeks at the couple.

"Oh, well, we just—" Oliver began but was stopped by a squeeze from Shane's hand.

"We just happen to have some change, don't we?" she prompted, reaching up to pat his arm with her free hand.

"Uh, it is rather warm out today," Oliver corrected himself. "We'll take two."

"Thank you, Mister!" The girl seemed overjoyed as she took the money and handed them their lemonades.

"You two are doing a great job! Keep it up!" Shane praised them with a smile. The little girl beamed and her brother finally looked up with a timid and toothless grin.

"Thanks! Goodbye!" the girl shouted, running to her parents to announce proudly that they had just had their first customer. The parents, who were sitting closer to the house and supervising from a distance, waved their thanks as Oliver and Shane headed to the car.

"You did good, O'Toole," she commended, when they were out of earshot. "You made their day. It's the little things."

Oliver chuckled quietly.

When they reached the car, Oliver opened the passenger door for Shane. Once she was seated with the drinks, he closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. Before he could get in, Shane asked him to retrieve the album from the trunk of the car, and he obliged.

A few minutes later, Oliver maneuvered the car onto the interstate, merging into the lane of steady traffic. Shane was poring over the baby book once more, still fascinated by the care a loving father had given it over the years.

About halfway through the book, Shane remarked, "For some reason, this page seems just a little bit thicker than the others." She slid her hand into the slit at the top and between the two sheets that were exposed by the clear protector. "Huh. There's something stuck in here. What is this?"

Oliver glanced over curiously, then focused again on the road ahead as she delicately pulled out a handful of papers. Shane gasped when she realized the value of what she held in her hands.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, her voice a medley of astonishment and delight. "Oliver, these are letters—written to Victoria, by her father!"


	8. Chapter 8

" _Letters?_ " Oliver didn't bother to conceal his bewilderment.

"Yes—there must be about ten of them," Shane said excitedly. "I wonder what all he had to tell her." She halted, clasped her hands together and placed them on top of the stack, then looked over at Oliver.

"Well?" he questioned her.

"I am finding myself in sort of a—a quandary," Shane responded.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver—should I read these?" Shane pondered.

"Should you read these…." Oliver repeated, raising a single eyebrow. "Well, why wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. It just—it feels like I'm intruding into a very personal relationship between a father and daughter."

"We read letters all the time, Shane, to determine how to restore them to whom they belong."

"Yes, but this just feels different."

"We _are_ still looking for Victoria. Any information that we can glean might be of assistance."

"But how could letters written before her father's death lead us to her now? It's been nearly eleven years since he passed."

Oliver appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Shane, you and I have been praying for guidance. I believe it is perfectly okay to read those letters. It is possible that there is a higher purpose to your discovery."

Shane and Oliver exchanged sweet smiles, then Shane unclasped her hands and picked up the stack. She checked the dates first, and seeing that everything was in perfect order, went back to the very first letter.

 _"'May 14, 1992,'"_ Shane began.

"That was several months before Victoria was even born," Oliver commented, and Shane nodded as she continued.

 _"'My dear little one,_

 _Today your mother told me the news—we're having a baby. I cannot find the words to adequately express how I feel. You are nothing short of a miracle, and your mother and I are amazed at God's faithfulness._

 _I met your beautiful, compassionate mom about 15 years ago. She helped nurse me back to health after a sports injury. We fell in love and were married less than a year later, on June 18, 1978. We have longed for you ever since. For nearly 14 years, we've prayed and we've waited, holding on to faith, even as the doctors kept telling us that there was no hope—that we would never have a child of our own.'"_

Shane paused and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Oliver swallowed hard.

 _"'Faith as small as a mustard seed can do some pretty amazing things. My biggest prayer now is that you will one day come to know that faith as well. When you do, you'll also know a love greater than no other. My precious baby, we love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Shane's voice caught on the last word and the tears were beginning to flow. "That is so precious!" She turned to look at Oliver and saw that his eyes were glistening as well.

"Wow." Oliver was visibly pensive.

Shane moved quickly to the next letter.

"This one is dated December 31, 1992."

"Victoria's birthday," Oliver remarked, with a smile.

"Yes, her actual birth day," Shane grinned through the tears, still wiping tears from her eyes.

 _"'My sweet Victoria Rose,_

 _Today they placed you in my arms, and I felt devotion like never before. Nothing can compare to a father's love for his little girl. You are so tiny, but there is no doubt in my mind that God will use you to do big things in this world. You are beautiful, strong, and healthy. My heart is overflowing with gratitude and my faith is stronger than ever._

 _Your mother and I vow to do the very best we can to take care of you. I can't promise not to spoil you, though—as I look into your eyes, it's clear that you already have me wrapped around your tiny finger. By the way, you have the prettiest little long fingers—maybe you'll be my piano player. I can envision us performing together in the future._

 _But no matter what you choose in this journey called life, you'll always have my love. My precious baby, we love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

By this time, Shane was sobbing with joy. Oliver glanced affectionately at her, then reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. It took several minutes before she could regain enough composure to read the next letter.


	9. Chapter 9

Shane picked up the third letter and in a shaky voice, proceeded to read the next heartfelt letter to Oliver as he eagerly listened.

 _"'December 31, 1993_

 _My beautiful Victoria,_

 _Where has this year gone? In the blink of an eye, the months have passed, and now you are one year old. We have enjoyed this past year immensely. You were well worth the wait! In these last several months, I've watched as you've learned to roll over, sit alone, crawl, eat solid foods, and walk. Never before have I known how much progress a baby makes in its first year of life. It is truly incredible. I can already tell that you are very smart and loving. You will probably have a great sense of humor because you also love to laugh._

 _I can't wait to watch you grow into a pretty young lady, but at the same time, I wish I could freeze these moments while you are Daddy's little girl. I cherish our family, and not a day goes by that we are not thankful for the gift of you. My precious baby, we love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Oliver chuckled. "To think that we were impressed with just the album, and now this."

Shane rolled her window down. "I know, right?" Her voice was unsteady as she turned to face the wind.

"Is it too warm in here?" Oliver eyed her and then looked ahead for the nearest exit.

"No," Shane turned back to look straight ahead, hot tears stinging her face as they made their way down her reddened cheeks. She put her hand over her mouth.

"Shane, what's wrong?" Oliver asked.

She took a deep breath and just shook her head.

"I'm taking this exit. You need a break."

"Oliver, I'm fine. I just needed that little bit of fresh air," she told him, rolling her window back up. "If we keep going we can make it back to the DLO by two o'clock."

"No, we're not going back to the DLO today," Oliver asserted firmly.

"What? Why?" Shane questioned.

"Shane, I think all of this has been a bit much for you today. I want to take you home so you can rest."

"Oliver—" she interjected.

"Don't 'Oliver' me. Let's find some nourishment. I'll read you the rest of the letters and then we're going home."

Shane wanted to argue but lacked the energy. It wouldn't matter anyway. Oliver had put his foot down. He was being obstinate, but Shane refused to allow his verbiage to agitate her. She knew he had only responded in that manner because he cared tremendously for her.

She couldn't bring herself to voice what was truly going on with her, but she knew Oliver was sharp enough to figure it out sooner or later. Since Shane had brought the baby book to the DLO, one thing had become evident: her heart was still raw and aching from the agonizing, distant relationship with her own father.


	10. Chapter 10

A few minutes later, Oliver pulled the car into a parking space at a restaurant just off the interstate. He shifted the gears to park, then got out of the vehicle and walked around to Shane's passenger door. He opened the door and held out his hand for her. She took it and somberly began to walk away from the vehicle, but then turned around when Oliver didn't let go.

"Come here," he whispered as he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

Shane had to fight the tears from starting again as he held her.

"I'm sorry, Shane. I didn't mean to sound so harsh," Oliver told her, holding his head back so he could see her tear-stained face. "You know you are my world. I was frustrated because all I wanted to do was pull you in my arms like this, but that was impossible while I was driving 70 miles per hour down the interstate."

They chuckled and Oliver gently wiped away a tear that was threatening to escape from her eye.

"I don't want to be arbitrary, but this whole baby book thing is causing you distress. We'll read the rest of the letters, but then I want you to promise me that you'll take a break for a few days. You are always invested in what you do, but I've never seen you quite like this. To be honest, it's worrisome to me."

Shane shrugged and bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Shane. It's all going to be okay." He lowered his head to kiss her, then they headed into the restaurant for lunch.

When they had finished eating, Oliver told Shane that he had noticed a nearby park with some picnic tables shaded by the trees. He suggested that they go sit a while to finish reading the letters, and Shane agreed. Once they had retrieved the letters and were settled at the park, Oliver picked up where Shane had left off.

 _"'August 19, 1998_

 _My darling Victoria,_

 _Many years have passed since I have written. You have grown into such an adorable little girl. Today you started Kindergarten. It was hard to let you go, but you did so well. You love your teacher, and I can tell she is quite fond of you as well. Your mom is no longer with us. She would have been just as proud of you as I am._

 _You are now….'"_

Oliver paused to check on Shane. She cast a sorrowful look at him but nodded her approval to resume.

 _"You are now my whole world. I have lost my one true love in marriage, but by God's grace, I have you, my sweet daughter. Please always remember that I love you—and your mom did too—more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Shane was once again fighting the urge to sob, but she failed miserably. Oliver took her hand across the table. After a few moments had passed, he moved on to the next letter.

 _"'March 17, 2000_

 _My lovely Victoria,_

 _We recently moved to Denver. Leaving Vail was not easy for either one of us, but I am looking forward to what is ahead—it's a new century and a fresh start. You are already making friends in our new neighborhood, but I think you will miss Nana and Pop more than anything._

 _Change is hard, but I am extremely proud of you. You are adjusting to this transition quite well. Before you know it, this will become "home" to us._

 _One day, I hope that you will realize how intertwined "home" and "love" are—that home is where your heart is, that this world is not our home, and that ultimately, His love will bring you home. And of course, remember that I love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Oliver put down the letter and picked up the next one, not letting go of Shane's hand. She had calmed down a bit, but the letters were greatly impacting them both.

 _"'October 13, 2003_

 _I walked you down the aisle today. Nothing else could delight my heart as much as knowing that you now know that faith and that you have made your profession. I began praying for this day years ago, before you were born, and once again, He is faithful._

 _My prayer now is that you nurture your faith so that you are equipped to handle the ups and downs of life, as you will surely encounter both. I'm also praying for you to find love—a whole lifetime of love. As in the past, I trust that He will answer that prayer when the time is right. Know that I love you more than you can ever imagine—and one day someone else will too….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Shane was no longer sobbing, but the tears were a steady flow. By this point, Oliver had become quite choked up himself. This father's love for his daughter was truly astounding and spoke volumes to their hearts.


	11. Chapter 11

_"'December 31, 2005_

 _My delightful Victoria,_

 _My little girl is growing up—you are now officially a teenager. Thirteen. I cannot believe thirteen years have passed since I first laid eyes on my daughter. I am extremely proud of who you are—a brilliant, thoughtful, talented, and simply charming young lady._

 _Since that unfortunate, rainy night that your mother went home, there have been plenty of days that I have wished she were here to guide you. Today is one of those days. But God is faithful and sends the right people into our lives when we need them the most. I am forever grateful for our friends and church family who are supporting us along the way. We'll be just fine._

 _I am praying that through these teenage years, you will stay true to yourself and your faith. And that you will remember that I love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Dad'"_

"Aww, he signed it Dad this time?" Shane asked, taking a peek at the letter in Oliver's hand. "I guess his little girl really was growing up."

"I guess so. That was certainly another profound letter," Oliver commented.

"Next!" Shane said happily, waiting anxiously for the remaining letters.

Oliver smiled at her and picked up the next one.

 _"'December 31, 2008_

 _My gorgeous Victoria,_

 _Sweet sixteen. The days are sometimes long, but the years sure do pass by quickly. You're becoming quite independent, and that makes me proud. But no one can make it through this life all alone, so be sure to guard your heart as well as keep it open to love and friendship._

 _You are the light of my life. Your beauty and your compassion reflect your mother's. I hope and pray that you find a calling in which you can use your kindheartedness every day to be a light to others. Remember that I love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Dad'"_

"There's one more left," Oliver declared.

"Okay," Shane acknowledged with a smile. "Go ahead."

"The writing—it's different," he noted, examining the penmanship.

"You mean, someone else wrote it?" Shane was slightly perplexed.

"No, this was written by Martin, too. But it seems as though he was distressed."

Shane gasped. "The last letter."

Oliver nodded gravely and raised his eyes questioningly at her.

Shane's eyes watered once again and she swallowed. "Go ahead," she nodded.

 _"'December 31, 2010_

 _My stunning Victoria,_

 _When your heart longs for a baby, you don't often picture an 18-year-old ready to take on the world. But, that's what we've been working toward these past 18 years, and now, here we are. In case I haven't said it enough, I'm beyond proud of you. I know you'll be graduating high school with honors in a few short months, but I can't help but see you as my baby, the one that God entrusted to me after years of heartfelt prayers. Now it's time to give you back. Life is a vapor._

 _These past few months have been hard. You have been strong and caring—the best nurse I could ever ask for here on Earth. You are going to be magnificent in your calling, just like your mother. She would be so proud. Thank you for loving your dear old dad._

 _I don't know what remains of our time together, but as I've learned in the past, that is always the case, illness or no illness. Life can take some unexpected twists, but He is our one constant. Keep believing and keep loving and give this world some hope. And above all, remember this always: I love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Oliver solemnly gathered the letters and regarded his delicate wife with a soft, sympathetic smile. "Let's go home."

To which Shane replied, "I'm with you."


	12. Chapter 12

"So," Rita said excitedly as she stood up and retrieved the empty dinner plates from their kitchen table. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Norman nodded animatedly, a huge grin covering his face. "Yep, let's do it!"

"This is always such a challenge but so satisfying in the end," Rita remarked gleefully.

She grabbed the bag from the kitchen counter and pulled out a brand new jigsaw puzzle.

"Oh, you got a new one?" Norman looked at the box inquisitively.

"It's a beautiful owl, perched on a mailbox. I just couldn't help myself," Rita admitted.

"Wow!" Norman exclaimed. "1000 pieces…."

"Yep!" Rita chortled enthusiastically. "This could take all night!"

Norman finished cleaning off the table as Rita opened the box. They began pulling out the edge pieces to make the frame.

"Do you think Oliver and Shane found Victoria today?" Norman wondered, as he placed pieces on the table.

"No, I don't think so," Rita told him, contemplating. "Oliver called the DLO while you were gone to the main office. He said that their day had been quite eventful and that Shane was exhausted. That's all I know. I'm sure they'll give us all the details tomorrow."

"Shane seems really eager to get the album to that lady," Norman stated thoughtfully.

"Yes, she does," Rita agreed. "But I don't blame her really. Victoria's dad worked hard on that book. He clearly wanted her to have a keepsake, something to look back on to remember her special years with him."

They worked on the puzzle for a few more moments in silence.

"Speaking of special memories, guess what I found," Rita piped up.

"What's that?" Norman was curious.

"Hang on." Rita ran into to their bedroom and came back out with a large colorful album.

"Oh, is that your baby book?" Norman asked.

"Yes, it is! Wanna see?" Rita inquired.

"Sure," he replied, captivated by Rita's enthusiasm.

They sat side by side on the loveseat and Rita opened the book in their laps. For the next hour, Norman adored his wife's baby pictures and asked questions about her childhood as they went through pages and pages of special memories. With every page she turned, Rita had a story to tell. They laughed a lot and Rita cried a little.

"I am truly grateful that your mom made this for you. It's obvious that she put a lot of love into this album, and now you have something really special that you can share with her grandchildren. And you're creative like her, too, Rita. You can make special albums for our little ones—when there are little ones to make albums for…." Norman started stammering.

"Norman, do you think it's time?" Rita asked, biting her lower lip.

"I definitely think it is time to start thinking about it." Norman gave her a contented smile. "If we're going to have a whole rainbow, we can't wait forever."

Rita sighed. "I know," she said hesitantly.

"What are you thinking, sweetheart?" Norman questioned her.

"It's just that—that's a _huge_ step, Norman. That will change _everything_. And I really like our life just the way it is. These past few years have been so sweet and so special, just the two of us."

"Well, it will change a lot, for sure," Norman acknowledged. "But it won't change everything, Rita. It won't change the fact that I love you more than anything in this world. And I think you'll see, the years ahead will be just as sweet and special, too, just in a different way. Change is not always a bad thing."

Rita's eyes glistened. "I love you, Norman Dorman."

Norman beamed and leaned in to offer his bride a kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

The weekend passed somewhat uneventfully, at least as far as a certain album was concerned. Shane had promised Oliver that she would not look at the baby book or letters for a few days, and she stayed true to her word. In fact, she had left everything in the DLO to avoid temptation. She couldn't stop thinking about Victoria over the weekend, though, but Oliver had managed to distract her enough to keep her from feeling overwhelmed by the whole situation. He treated her to nights out to dinner and a little shopping and they even took in a movie, among other excursions. Shane was back to her normal self, and Oliver was pleased.

By the time Shane walked into the DLO on Monday morning, she felt refreshed and was ready to tackle the baby book investigation once again. Oliver moaned under his breath, feeling just a tad uneasy, when she pulled the items back out and began scrutinizing everything all over. Norman and Rita were busy trying to determine the contents and addresses of a horribly ripped and mangled piece of correspondence. It appeared to have been chewed by a canine, according to Oliver, and run over by a sedan a time or two. Extracting information in both cases seemed to be impossible, but the POstables always persevered.

"Shane. Your coffee has gotten cold," Oliver mentioned.

"Oh, I guess I got distracted. I think I'll take a Yoo-Hoo instead," Shane suggested.

"Okay," Oliver murmured, a bit perplexed as he retrieved a Yoo-Hoo from the refrigerator for her.

Shane continued to study the album. "I just keep wondering if there's something we've missed. Maybe something in a picture will give us a clue as to what Victoria is doing now."

Oliver appeared thoughtful. "Let's go over the photographs again."

Shane flipped to the beginning of the album. The first picture was of a glowing Patti, just weeks before Victoria was born, at her baby shower. Then there were the pictures taken the day that Victoria was born, including one of Patti snuggling with Victoria and another of Martin showing off his new baby girl. Milestone pictures were next, including birthdays and Victoria's baptism.

"It's amazing how much more meaningful these pictures are now that we've read the letters," Shane noted.

"That is true," Oliver said. "It brings them to life in a sense."

Shane nodded. "It really does. I feel like I know them now."

They looked further to memories of special events such as piano recitals, softball games, pageants, and high school proms. It also appeared that Victoria traveled to many places, some overseas, on mission trips with a church youth group. Shane stopped on the pages that contained numerous pictures of Victoria with underprivileged children in what seemed to be faraway locations. In some of the photographs, she wore scrubs and appeared to be assisting in medical care.

"Oliver. What did Victoria's father say about her calling?" Shane hurriedly pulled the letters out of their safe space within the baby book and fished for that particular letter.

"He prayed she would find a calling where she could use her compassion?"

"Yes, but there was something mentioned after that, in the very last letter…. Here it is. ' _You have been strong and caring—the best nurse I could ever ask for here on Earth. You are going to be magnificent in your calling, just like your mother. She would be so proud.'_ Oliver," she expressed heartily, "maybe Victoria's a nurse!"

"I think that is an excellent conjecture," Oliver agreed.

"But that wouldn't explain all the moving around." Shane shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe she's a nurse who likes to travel?" Oliver raised his eyebrows.

"Oh! A traveling nurse!" Norman interjected. "I have a cousin who does that."

"You mean he or she is a nurse who likes to travel?" Oliver probed.

"No. Yes." Norman awkwardly shook his head. "I mean, she is a nurse. And she likes to travel. But it's her career."

"So, she really is a 'traveling nurse'?" Shane questioned.

"Yes," Norman confirmed. "Nurses are in high demand in a lot of places. She works for a company who assigns her to different locations. She spends a couple of months here and a couple of months there. She's kind of like my grandmother—all over the place."

Rita giggled. "That sounds adventurous, actually! Imagine getting to do what you love and help people, all while traveling the world. Come to think of it, that's pretty much what _we_ do. Well, except for the travel part. But we've come a long way these last few years."

Oliver grimaced as he remembered when Shane first arrived and he wasn't exactly supportive of the idea of leaving the office.

"Norman," Shane pleaded with him, "could you check with your cousin and see if there's any chance that she might know our Victoria? Or maybe how we could pinpoint her location, if indeed she is a traveling nurse?"

"Sure thing," Norman consented. "I will give her a call right away."

Shane's smile radiated the DLO. Maybe, just maybe, they were finally getting somewhere with this mystery.


	14. Chapter 14

After lunch the POstables returned to their afternoon duties.

"Uh, Shane, I heard back from my cousin," Norman spoke up. "Unfortunately, she doesn't know Victoria. There are a lot of companies out there who provide nurses for outsourcing, and a whole lot of hospitals and other agencies that use those services. Without knowing the company that Victoria might work for, we are basically looking for a needle in a haystack. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more."

"That's okay, Norman," Shane told him, with a soft, grateful smile. "All of this was just a hunch anyway. But my heart tells me that whatever it is she's doing, she's out there caring for other people."

"Let's consider the possibility that Victoria _is_ a traveling nurse, shall we?" Oliver suggested. "Norman, what kind of living arrangements might she have?"

"Well, my cousin is provided with a fully furnished apartment with each assignment. They email her the assignments and she accepts or declines as she sees fit. She can request locations and there's a lot of flexibility as far as time off. It's a pretty neat setup."

"So would a traveling nurse have a permanent residence?" Shane inquired.

"It depends. My cousin does have a permanent home—she's married with a family so that's what works for them. But for someone who is not as tied down, a permanent residence would not be absolutely necessary, unless they just want one for some reason."

"Okay, so based on what we know about Victoria, it's entirely possible that she _could_ be a traveling nurse?" Shane asked hopefully.

"I would say so," Norman agreed.

"That would explain all the random return addresses," Rita stated.

"Right. But why wouldn't she just tell Clarice what she's doing?" Shane pondered.

The four POstables became silently contemplative for a few seconds.

"Maybe she thought Clarice would disapprove and try to talk her out of it?" Rita offered.

"Maybe," Shane replied. "The whole situation with Clarice is strange to me. They've exchanged cards over the years and spoken on the phone a handful of times, but the relationship seems quite superficial. It's almost like Victoria only maintains contact out of obligation."

"Well," Oliver commented, "Tori did leave Vail when she was only seven years old. Maybe she just doesn't feel like she knows them well."

"But Tori called them Nana and Pop. The Hasletts were clearly important to the McKnights. Martin mentioned them in the letter he wrote after their move, saying that Tori would miss them the most. Their pictures are in this album, too. In all these years, why wouldn't Tori go back to visit? Why would she keep her career choice a secret from them? And the phone number thing—it's as if she didn't want them to call her."

"Maybe she doesn't have a cell phone and only uses landlines at her apartments?" Oliver suggested. "She doesn't seem to have social media."

"True. That is strange…." Shane said.

Oliver furrowed his brows at her. "Is it really?"

Shane laughed. "Okay, so maybe we have a young, old-fashioned traveling nurse with no permanent address, phone number, or social media accounts. Mr. O'Toole, in the days of horse-drawn carriages, how _did_ people find each other after separation?"

"Well, _Mrs. O'Toole_ ," Oliver playfully emphasized her name. "I imagine that in those olden but golden days, people were not so enamored with objects that filled their time but left them empty. Back then, they found more time to pray."

"So that's what we'll do, then," Shane said confidently. "We'll keep praying and believing that God is working out the details."

Oliver's eyes sparkled as he admired Shane and silently gave thanks for this woman of faith by his side. She was his answer to years of prayer and faith and undoubtedly the best gift Oliver had ever received.


	15. Chapter 15

Another day had begun in the DLO. Shane was showing extreme patience, and Oliver was quite proud. There was really nothing more they could do at this point, short of trying to get the authorities—to be precise, Dale—involved, yet they didn't want to break any legal or ethical standards. So, as they had discussed, they were relying on prayers to see them through. This was not a dead end—only a bump in the road—and the O'Tooles were certain they would get past it soon enough, or at least when the time was right.

Norman and Rita were still working steadfastly on that pesky piece of lacerated mail. Seeing that they were getting nowhere with it, they enlisted the assistance of Oliver and Shane. As much as Shane wanted to dive right back into the baby book mystery and seek more clues, she knew she needed to let that sit for a while, so she joined her postal friends in their quest.

"What have you got?" Shane inquired.

"Well, we have a bit of a photograph on the left," Rita began, pointing at the card in front of them. "It appears to be a couple. To the right is the wording, or what's left of it. We've done just about everything and can't make it out."

"Hmmm…." Shane took the card in her hand and squinted her eyes.

"Oliver has already determined that it was torn by a canine and run over by a car….although we're not exactly sure in which order," Norman told Shane.

"Okay. So with a couple's picture, I'm thinking the wording could be some type of invitation or announcement. Maybe a save the date card? Or it could be a wedding invitation, although most traditional invitations don't have a picture like this."

Shane gazed at the card pensively then continued.

"Looking at the lines, though, it looks like the third and fifth lines would be the couple's names. For example, you might have 'Please save the date, for the marriage of,' then the bride's name, the word 'and', then the groom's name. Or the first two lines could read something like 'The honor of your presence, is requested at the marriage of.' So I would focus on the names here. It looks like you might make more progress with the groom's name than the bride's. I know you've probably already tried to unravel every bit of wording on here, but I would try again, focusing just on that name. Was there anything at all left on the envelope or was it destroyed completely?"

"Not much left to decipher at all," Rita informed them, shrugging her shoulders. "But you never know."

Shane furrowed her brow at the card she had just placed back on the counter. "She kind of looks familiar. I wonder if I've run into her somewhere."

Just then, the DLO doors opened and Hazel stepped in, grinning at them all.

"Oh, hello, Hazel," Oliver addressed their postal colleague.

"Hi there, everyone," she returned, then lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "I just came down to let you know you have a visitor."

"Thank you, _Hazel_ ," Shane drew her words out and rounded her eyes.

"Please, send them in," Oliver approved.

Hazel gave two thumbs-up and slipped back to the door. She opened it and looking out, motioned for the guest to enter. Seconds later, into the Dead Letter Office walked Clarice Haslett.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mrs. Ha— Clarice," Oliver corrected himself as he greeted the older lady.

"Good morning, Oliver," Clarice smiled kindly and turned to Shane. "And how are you doing, dear?"

"Oh, I'm great! This is such a nice surprise. How are you?" Shane greeted her.

"Doing well, thank you," she responded, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Clarice, this is Rita Dorman and Norman Dorman," Oliver introduced his co-workers. "They are employed alongside us here in the Dead Letter Office. Rita, Norman, this is Clarice Haslett, otherwise known as Victoria's 'Nana.'"

Rita's eyes widened and Norman's mouth gaped open, but they regained their composure quickly and welcomed Clarice into the office.

"Here, have a seat," Oliver gestured to one of the more comfortable chairs in the DLO, and as she sat, they all gathered chairs to sit around her. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I feel that I owe you an apology," she began, clearly troubled.

"What on Earth for?" Shane was stunned.

"Well, I wasn't exactly truthful about everything during your visit last Thursday," Clarice began to explain. "That is, I omitted a few things that might be of importance—well, I know it's important. I'm not sure that it will aid in finding our sweet Tori, but I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer."

The POstables listened and watched Clarice attentively. She drew an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Oliver, who stared at it in shock.

"What is it?" Shane asked earnestly.

"I recognize the handwriting as Martin's. It reads, 'To Victoria Rose, For Your Wedding Day,'" Oliver declared, blowing out a breath and eyeing Shane.

"What?! _Another_ letter? There's another letter?" Shane was beside herself as she looked back to their visitor for clarification.

"I'm sorry, what do you mean _another_ letter?" Clarice questioned, puzzled.

"After we left your house, Shane discovered a series of letters within the baby book. They were written on special occasions throughout the years by Martin to Victoria," Oliver expounded.

"Yes—letters from before Victoria's birth all the way up until her 18th birthday," Shane added.

"Oh, my," Clarice expressed her amazement. It took her a few moments to process, then she continued. "This _is_ from Martin as well. He was so gracious to keep in touch with us after he and Victoria moved to Denver. He didn't wish to make a return visit to Vail, preferring not to look back, only ahead. But he didn't forget about us. He called many times, and we made several trips to Denver to visit the two of them as Victoria was growing up.

"The last time we saw him was two weeks before he died, on the day that Victoria graduated from high school. He was too sick to watch her walk the stage—he was in ICU—but Dalbert and I attended the graduation ceremony. As we were visiting Martin at the hospital that night, Tori showed him her diploma, and though he was so terribly sick, you could see the pride in his eyes. That girl meant everything to him."

Clarice paused to swallow, her eyes misty from the memories she had unmasked.

"At one point, Tori left the room with a friend for a little while. Martin confided to us that he knew he was nearing the end. He had made arrangements for Tori and had discussed them with her. He let us know the plans, then he asked us to take care of his baby girl until we could give her away." She stopped and smiled, tears rolling down her frail cheeks. "Then he requested another favor of us—to make sure that she got this letter on her wedding day, before she walked down the aisle."

Shane sat with her elbows in her lap, her hands covering her mouth and nose. Oliver scratched his head, overwhelmed. Norman and Rita looked at each other, astounded by what they had just witnessed. No one said a single word for nearly a whole minute.

"That's why you wanted to be invited to the wedding," Shane stated softly, breaking the silence.

"Yes," Clarice whispered. "And now, I don't know. I feel like we—like I—let Martin down. I tried to keep in touch with Tori since then, but I kept feeling her pull away. She became a strong and independent woman, thanks to her father's raising. She wasn't scared to take on the world. But people and relationships—that terrified her. I think after Martin's passing, she distanced herself from everyone. She decided to live out her life on her own terms."

Shane nodded. "That would explain the detached behavior in her correspondence and her phone calls."

"I really think so. And I have let her do as she wished. But now, I feel like I need to find her, to let her know that she doesn't have to run and hide from love, friendships, and family. I began to think that maybe she needs this letter ahead of time."

"If you don't mind me asking—did you read it?" Oliver interrogated.

"Yes," Clarice attested lamentably. "But not until just recently, after your visit. Maybe I shouldn't have, but Martin had entrusted it to me, and it's been eleven years. Reading that letter convinced me that she needs this now, _before_ her wedding day. What's in that letter, is everything she needs to truly _live_ her life. If she doesn't read it, she might never choose to open her heart to anyone."

"So you don't think she's married by now?" Oliver asked.

"No," Clarice answered confidently. "I honestly believe that she would _not_ break her promise to me. She was sincere and reassured me—more than once—that _if_ , and she did say if, she ever had plans to marry, she would let us know."

Oliver drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "Clarice, I don't know how, but we _will_ find her. I am more than confident that God will guide us to her, wherever she may be."

Shane, teary-eyed and sniffling, nodded in agreement, and Clarice wept as a sense of relief washed over her.


	17. Chapter 17

Shane was drained—physically and emotionally. After Clarice left, the POstables had read the wedding letter together, and each of them was moved beyond words. The day became dull and dreary as they all felt pressure to locate Tori as well as the anguish of ineptitude. They took a break and endeavored to have lunch at the Mailbox Grille, where Shane ate a total of five bites and could not quit crying. Oliver attempted to assuage her sorrow as much as he could, but it was an intricate feat as well.

Back at the DLO, Shane curled up on the couch and Oliver let her be. The others went about business as usual, and an hour later, Shane had fallen into a slumber. Oliver lovingly covered her with a blanket.

"Poor thing," Rita said quietly. "She's exhausted. All of this has really taken a toll on her."

Oliver was unmistakably apprehensive. "I'm praying for a quick resolution to all of this. I cannot bear to see her miserable."

"You know, Oliver," Norman stated, "I think there's more than one reason this hurts her heart so much."

"I do realize that, Norman. And although I feel that I am a man of many words, I am simply inarticulate when it comes to things of this nature. The timing of this baby book mystery has me disconcerted. Shane already mourns this time of year, as Father's Day approaches. Being bombarded by memories and letters from a devoted father to his daughter is—well, it's just _too_ much for her to handle." Oliver's eyes teared up in frustration as he gazed upon his precious wife sleeping soundly. "But I _don't_ know how to rescue her from this pain."

Norman and Rita looked at each other plaintively, feeling helpless as well.

"Oliver, maybe she needs some type of therapy," Rita suggested. "I know that after my mom passed away, it was of great comfort for me to talk things out. I imagine Shane has bottled up so much over the years."

"She refuses to go, Rita," Oliver stated simply.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" she offered.

Oliver nodded. "Please, do that."

"Of course," Rita assured him. "She's going to be okay, Oliver. Just keep an eye on her."

"I'll do anything for her," Oliver vowed.

That night, Shane had difficulty sleeping, probably, she surmised, because of the lengthy nap she had taken in the DLO. She had spent the entire afternoon on that couch. And then, against Oliver's wishes, she had snuck the baby book home with her and was now perusing it once again in the middle of the night.

The emotions she had experienced for the past week or so were toilsome and she knew exactly why. She had lost her appetite, felt fatigued yet restless at the same time, cried often and uncontrollably, and had even begun battling headaches as well as the onset of a cold. The grief she had endured for so long was wreaking havoc on her immune system. She knew she had to get a grip on this but she wasn't sure how.

Sitting on the loveseat of the dimly-lit living room, she placed the album in her lap and opened it. As she came to the "Mommy" page, she stared at the photo of Patti McKnight, who was holding a hand to her protruding abdomen and beaming proudly. Shane smiled to herself at the sweetness of it all. And then, in an instant, she put two and two together and sobbed again, overcome by this revelation.

"Shane?"

Oliver's deep, soothing voice resonated across the stillness of the room, startling Shane. She hastily wiped at her tears and turned to where he stood in the doorway.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

He came and sat beside her, gently removing the baby book from her lap and closing it before placing it on the coffee table. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek and looked directly into her swollen eyes.

"Oliver," Shane uttered fervently. "I need to go to the DLO."

"What? Why?" Oliver was mystified once again.

"You know the card that had been chewed by a dog and run over?"

"Yes?" he urged her.

"The young woman in the picture—it's Victoria."


	18. Chapter 18

"What?" Oliver was incredulous. "You think it's Victoria? What led you to _that_ conclusion?"

Shane leaned over to the baby book and opened it to the page she had been viewing when Oliver entered the room. She pointed at the picture of Patti.

"Victoria is the spitting image of her mom. I know that's Victoria's picture on the mangled card. I'm pretty positive, but I want to see the pictures side by side. I'm going down to the office."

Oliver laughed. "Shane, it's two o'clock in the morning!"

"I can't sleep anyway," she rebutted. "And this is _huge_ , Oliver."

"Well, you're not going alone—not at this time of night," Oliver demanded, eyeing her decisively. "But I'll take you down there."

Shane smiled fondly at him, appreciative to be under the auspices of such a supportive husband.

A half hour later, the O'Tooles were standing in the DLO comparing the two photographs.

"Wow," Oliver expressed. "They look identical!"

"Yes," Shane agreed. "They have the same facial features, the same hair, and—" She stopped and leaned in for a closer look.

"What is it?" Oliver watched as his wife glanced back and forth between the images.

"Confirmation," Shane grinned proudly, looking up at him. "That's the same necklace."

Oliver scrutinized the photos. "Oh, my goodness," he exclaimed. "It sure does look like it!"

"I believe it is, Oliver. Victoria's wearing her mother's necklace," she said softly, as she reached up to touch her own necklace, which was a sentimental reminder of her past as well.

"This is— This is—" Oliver tried to find the right word.

"Unbelievable?" Shane suggested.

"It is astounding, that's for sure. I don't want to say that I don't believe it, because you know, it _is_ clearly an answer to prayer."

"Yes, it is," Shane said, taking a deep breath and grinning broadly, then appearing contemplative. "But what now?"

"Well, we just have to believe that the pieces will keep falling into place. You and I can try to decipher what we can until Norman and Rita arrive in a few hours."

"Let's do this," Shane said excitedly, rubbing her hands together.

The couple began by verifying Victoria's name. It took a while, but they were finally able to make it out. That first step made it easier to determine some of the other words, but by the time the Dormans walked in, Shane and Oliver hadn't been able to find answers to the most important questions.

"You two are hard at work early this morning."

The O'Tooles glanced up at the sound of Norman's voice as he and Rita entered the DLO.

"We got here just a _little_ early today," Shane told them.

"Oh, about two-thirty, to be precise." Oliver raised his eyebrows at the other couple.

"What?! What's going on?" Rita inquired.

"Well, I was looking at the baby book again last night, and as I looked at the picture of Patti, I suddenly remembered this photo," Shane explained, holding up the photo invitation.

Norman and Rita stepped closer to take a look at the photos.

"Whoa." Rita was surprised. "I don't remember seeing Patti's picture, but this woman looks just like her."

"But it can't be Patti," Norman commented. "This was postmarked a few weeks ago."

"Right, Norman," Shane concurred. "But—it could be—"

"Victoria!" Rita practically shouted. "They do look _so_ much alike."

Shane nodded. "Yes, and I also have some pretty solid proof that this is indeed mother and daughter. Look at that necklace."

The Dormans inspected the photos and then, with wide eyes, looked at Oliver and Shane.

"Victoria's wearing her mom's necklace. That's so special," Rita expressed.

"I am one hundred percent sure that we _finally_ have our lead." Shane could hardly contain her excitement. "Oliver and I were able to make out her name right here—'Victoria Rose McKnight'—and the wording at the top suggests that this is indeed a wedding invitation. We were able to decode 'honor of' and 'ceremony' but nothing else that will really get us anywhere. So, we _really_ need your help with this. If anybody can figure this out, it's the two of you."

"Yes," Oliver added. "We believe in you."

The Dormans were clearly flattered, and they worked hard for the next hour or so while the O'Tooles took a break for a light meal and coffee. When the latter couple returned to the office, hopeful for some good news, Norman and Rita did not disappoint.

"Well, the wedding is scheduled for a Saturday," Norman informed them. "In June."

Shane caught her breath. "Do we know which Saturday?"

"Yes," Norman responded. "Saturday, June 18th."

" _This_ Saturday? As in _three_ days from now?" Shane was flabbergasted.

"That's the one," Rita confirmed, laughing nervously.

"Oh my," Shane murmured. "Things just got really serious. Do we know where?"

"We just can't make it out," Norman answered grimly.

"Oh," Shane said dejectedly.

"But we do have a partial name of the groom!" Rita claimed, elated.

"Really?" Shane perked up.

"Yes. His name is Ellis (something) Marble," Rita replied.

"Wow. There's something to go on! Maybe he won't be as difficult to track down as his fiancée," Shane chuckled.

Shane began her search, silently giving thanks that the groom's name seemed to be a unique one. If she did happen to find an online presence for an 'Ellis Marble,' she was certain that she wouldn't have to weed out matches until she had found the right person.


	19. Chapter 19

Shane's hunch was correct. She was able to locate Ellis right away, but—although he had an online presence—she was not able to track down a phone number or address. Therefore, she turned to social media.

She found his account online and viewed his profile and recent photos that were available to the public. After a comparison to the photo invitation, she had determined that this was indeed a match. Shane was feeling more relieved that the POstables had made such excellent progress, but now more than ever, she felt the urgency to make contact with Victoria's fiancé. There were only a little more than 72 hours remaining before the wedding.

"How's it going?" Oliver leaned over her shoulder, looking at the screen in front of Shane.

"Well, so far so good," she responded. "I didn't find much information when I ran a web search, but I did find Ellis on social media. I'm about to send him a message. The only real concern I have is that he might not get it right away. I checked his activity, and he hasn't even logged in at all the past couple of days."

"Send the message. And then have a little faith that it will get to its destination," Oliver coaxed her.

"I have no concerns about it getting to its destination. I just want to make sure the recipient _opens_ the message."

"Well, if you make the subject line really enticing, I'm sure he won't be able to resist," Oliver teased her.

"This is not an email, Oliver. There is no sub—" she stopped short as Oliver began planting kisses on her cheek and neck. "Oliver!"

"Hmmm?" he mumbled. "Norman and Rita are gone to lunch."

"But this is our _workplace_ ," she reminded him sternly. "We've had this conversation before."

"I know. I'm delirious," he whispered before tenderly kissing her on the lips. "I _need_ sleep."

"I do too. Are we allowed to uh, knock off a little early today?" she asked quietly.

"Seeing as how we came in so early, and we _were_ engaged in postal business, I think the boss might let that slide…." Oliver flirted with her, eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face. "Send the message, and let's head home."

"Yes, sir," Shane consented, giving him a sly grin.

The next morning rolled around rather quickly, and both Oliver and Shane felt refreshed after catching up on some much-needed sleep. To Shane's dismay, Ellis had not yet logged into his social media account. Shane was feeling hopeless and edgy and kept an eye on her inbox regularly throughout the day. Norman and Rita continued to examine wording on the invitation—they were hoping to determine the venue and city where the wedding was to take place. At the end of the day, Shane still had not received a response from Ellis, and the Dormans had no new updates to share. The two couples left the DLO, hoping for a brighter and more productive day tomorrow.

That night, after dinner, Rita and Norman considered another jigsaw puzzle.

"I don't know, Norman. I think my eyes could use a little break," she chuckled.

"Mine too," Norman said agreeably. "Maybe we could watch a movie or something."

"That sounds good!" Rita approved. "But first, I have something important to give you."

"Oh?" he queried.

"Yeah," Rita nodded. She went into their spare room. A few moments later, she walked back into the living room, an enthusiastic look on her face and a present in hand.

"What is this?" he asked, baffled. "It's not my birthday, and it's not our anniversary. Is it?"

"No. It's a 'just because I love you' present," Rita said with a broad smile.

Norman nodded, a pleased expression radiating from his face. He reached into the bag and pulled out a scrapbook album covered in a mixture of red, white, and blue fabric. He looked at Rita, who was grinning from ear to ear. She sat down beside him on the couch.

Opening the album, he read the first page out loud. "Name: Norman Xavier Dorman. Date of birth…." He trailed off as he noticed that underneath that, in bold, whimsical letters, Rita had added "Born to be a POstable" along with the date he began his career with the USPS. Norman began to tear up as he realized what Rita had done. Turning to the next page, he found a sort of family tree, on which Rita, Oliver, and Shane were listed. The rest of the album was filled with dozens of pictures and special items that Rita had saved since the two of them had met. By the time he got through the entire album, he was sobbing.

"Rita, this is the most special thing anyone has ever done for me," he acknowledged.

"Oh, Norman, I love you so much, and I always want you to feel as special as you truly are. You might not have a baby book, but now you have something that you can look back on and remember some special times since you joined our POstables family."

Norman nodded, his eyes still full of tears. "This is so thoughtful, sweetheart. I love you," he told her as he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. He smiled adoringly at her and wrapped one arm around her. With his free hand, he flipped through the album again and they relived those special times together as they laughed and cried. "I _have_ had a lot of milestones since I became a POstable, haven't I?"

"Yes, Norman. Yes, you have. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Rita. I'm proud of you, too." Norman embraced his wife and sweetly kissed the top of her head as she giggled with joy.


	20. Chapter 20

Friday morning, the POstables gathered at the DLO as usual. When Shane went to check her social media inbox, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Ellis had sent a response early that morning. She cried with relief.

"Shane, what's the matter?" Rita asked, concerned.

Shane glanced up from her laptop. "Oh, nothing's wrong! Ellis has replied. Which is a great thing, because I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't."

Rita bounced a little, clapping her hands together. "Oh, that is fantastic! What did he say?"

"Well, it looks like the wedding is at six o'clock tomorrow evening," Shane answered cheerfully, then she grimaced. "In West Palm Beach, Florida."

"Oh, my goodness," Norman murmured. "Did you get an address to overnight everything?"

"No. After this whole ordeal, I don't know if I can just box it up and ship it out." Shane sighed.

"I believe the O'Toole Foundation can provide the necessary funds for someone to personally deliver the album and letters." Oliver raised his eyebrows at the rest of the crew.

"Really, Oliver?" Shane questioned, her excitement building.

"And just how many people does it take to deliver a baby book and a bunch of priceless letters?" Rita hinted.

"Four, Rita. Definitely four." Oliver winked at her as she grinned. "You two are more than welcome to join us."

"Oliver," Shane said, deep in thought, "what about the Hasletts?"

"Oh, of course," Oliver replied. "Why don't you call them and inform them of what has transpired since Tuesday? Let them know that we will cover airfare and lodging for them to travel to Florida with us. And you might want to book those flights and hotel rooms right away. The wedding is scheduled to take place in less than 36 hours."

Shane's eyes grew wide but she gave him a bright smile and nodded. "Will do."

Oliver snickered. "I never thought I would say this, but let's go crash a wedding."

The remainder of the day was a frenzy, as the POstables made preparations to fly to the east coast of Florida. Before booking the flight and hotel rooms, Shane called Clarice Haslett with the update, who didn't hesitate to accept the O'Tooles' offer. Norman and Rita handled urgent tasks and redirected a few parcels of mail. Oliver had a department meeting at ten o'clock. After he left, Shane slipped out of the DLO for a while, informing the Dormans that she had a couple of errands to take care of since she would be gone the next day. She was back within an hour and a half, before Oliver's meeting was over. After a quick lunch together, they all headed home to start packing for a very brief trip, as the gang had decided to fly back in time for Oliver and Rita to spend Father's Day with their dads.

Their flight was scheduled to depart around four o'clock that afternoon. It was almost two o'clock, and Oliver and Shane were discussing their plans as they finished packing when Shane's cell phone rang out multiple times in the other room. She was quite busy, so she just decided to check it later. Oliver carried their luggage to the car, and always the gentleman, opened the door for Shane and then closed it once she was seated. They headed to the Dormans' residence to pick up their work friends.

The Hasletts met them at the airport, and a little before four o'clock, they boarded the plane. It had been a while since they had traveled by plane, so Oliver had insisted on first class tickets. After the three couples found their seats, Shane decided to check her voicemails before switching her phone to airplane mode.

Oliver stored their carry-on luggage overhead and then took the aisle seat beside Shane. He noticed that she was staring blankly out the window. Oliver took her hand and startled her out of her thoughts.

"Shane?" He spoke softly and she turned toward his gentle voice. "I know all of this has been hard on you."

"Well, you know, it's just that I wanted so badly to get this album to Victoria." Shane had stored the album in her carry-on, practically guarding it with her life. "I couldn't stand the thought of her not knowing how much her father loved her."

"I know. You are a very compassionate person and I know why this mattered to you—but I think I also know why it all has resonated with you so strongly."

Shane licked her lips and looked down at his wedding ring on the hand that held hers, waiting for him to continue.

"Every year around Father's Day, you seem a little down. But this year, with the baby book and the letters, it's been even more difficult for you to cope. You're still feeling some pain from the relationship—or lack of a relationship—with your father."

Shane nodded, without looking up. "I almost feel jealous. Victoria lost her father, just like I did, but at least he wanted her. She had 18 years with a dad who loved her like crazy."

"Shane, your father—you can't say he didn't love you. He just expressed it differently."

"Yeah, by leaving me as a child?" Shane's lip quivered.

" _You_ were _not_ the reason he left, sweetheart. He sent you birthday cards with a twenty-dollar bill. And you said he reached out to you before he died. He loved you—if he hadn't, he wouldn't have wanted to reconnect. You're hurting for what you missed with your father, for what could have been, and I'm so sorry. If I could change that, I would, in a heartbeat.

"I know it's not the same, Shane, but I love you like crazy. And my dad—he thinks the world of you. You're like the daughter he never had. Remember what I told you at Christmas a few years ago? You are surrounded by a happy family and love. Embrace what you have and let's look forward to what's to come. And if you can't do this on your own, let's get you some help. Whatever it takes for you to heal."

Shane looked at him, her face a mixture of tears and admiration. "Thank you, Oliver. I love you like crazy, too."

Oliver leaned over and lovingly kissed his wife as the plane prepared for takeoff.


	21. Chapter 21

It was close to midnight when the POstables and the Hasletts checked into the hotel, so they agreed to meet for breakfast at nine o'clock the next morning in the dining area on the main floor. After their orders had been taken, they discussed Victoria's upcoming wedding and how they planned to make contact with her before then. They wanted to ensure that she had plenty of time to read the wedding day letter, if nothing else, before the ceremony.

"I still can't believe little Tori Rose is getting married," Clarice declared. "I wonder how she's going to react to us showing up out of the blue. I'm slightly worried, honestly."

"Now, Clarice, you're acting as if she despised us," her husband interjected. "She just needed her space. I told you that all along, but you wouldn't listen to me."

"Oh, Dalbert, what was I supposed to think? And you didn't know for sure, either. There was a time or two you swore to track her down yourself."

The Dormans and O'Tooles snickered unobtrusively at the older couple's banter.

"I feel quite confident that you two will be a very pleasant surprise to Victoria," Oliver stated.

"You, and that baby book, and those letters—it will be the best wedding gift she could ever receive," Rita remarked and everyone else agreed.

"I can't wait to meet her," Shane commented. "I feel like I know her already. It's pretty amazing how all of this fell into place," she continued, looking at Clarice. "You know, if Oliver had rejected this investigation, if Rita had not recognized the school in that picture, if you had not opened up to us, if I hadn't noticed the shocking resemblance Victoria has to her mom, and if Norman hadn't revealed the wedding date and the groom's name on the invitation. And all just _days_ before her wedding. Oh, my goodness." She blew out a breath and fanned her eyes with her hand, attempting to keep tears at bay. "Trust the timing," she chuckled as she cried.

"Trust the timing," Oliver repeated, as he reached under the table and placed his hand on her thigh. "You know, we've seen some splendid miracles in our line of work, but this—this has been exceptional."

"It reminds me of the jigsaw puzzles Rita and I put together sometimes. This was like a thousand-piece puzzle. And when you're missing a piece, you just don't have the whole picture," Norman stated. He glanced at Rita and they smiled at each other.

"I'm amazed at how you all put your heart and your soul into your what you do. It's not just a job for you, is it?" Clarice asked.

The POstables shook their heads.

"It's a calling," Oliver replied, smiling at Shane, who nodded in agreement.

The waitress appeared and began serving their food. Shane appeared restless and was practically squirming in her seat. When her food was placed before her, she took a gulp of water and then stood up quickly.

"I'm sorry—excuse me," Shane said abruptly, and Oliver stood as well. She bolted out of the dining area and Oliver followed her, after excusing himself. The Dormans and Hasletts gave each other questioning looks.

Oliver was several feet behind her but saw her exit the hotel lobby. When he walked out the front door, he found her standing there under the breezeway, punching her cell phone as if she was texting someone in a hurry.

"Shane?" he called out.

"Oliver! You didn't have to follow me," she told him.

"I wanted to check on you," he insisted.

"I'm sorry," Shane apologized, shaking her head. "I just—I remembered a voicemail."

"So suddenly? And it's that urgent?" Oliver interrogated her.

Shane chortled exaggeratedly, clearly evading his questions. Just then, her phone dinged and she seemed relieved.

"Oh! It's a message from Ellis. He said that Victoria is supposed to be at the church by one o'clock. Let's go finish our breakfast and get going."

Shane rushed back into the hotel almost as quickly as she had run out. Oliver shook his head in exasperation and followed his wife back inside.


	22. Chapter 22

A little after noon, the group was on their way to the wedding venue. They were hoping that Victoria would show up early so that their delivery would not disrupt any wedding day activities. Shane had entered the church's address in her phone's GPS, and at about twelve-thirty, the crew pulled into the parking lot. As they entered the church, they found several people hard at work on the wedding decorations in the sanctuary.

"Excuse me," Shane said to a young woman who seemed to be supervising everything.

The woman turned and looked at the group. "Hi there. Can I help you?" she asked with a smile.

Oliver began with his usual introduction. "We are from the United States Postal Service." He introduced the others.

"I'm Sara, the Wedding Coordinator." She eyed them curiously.

"Oh, wonderful! We're looking for Victoria," Shane explained. "We have some special deliveries for her wedding day."

"I'm not sure if she has made it in yet. I'm sure she'll be here soon, though," Sara answered.

"Okay," Oliver said. "Well, when she does arrive, could you—"

"Sara!" a distressed voice called from down the hallway. "Sara, we have a problem."

"Excuse me for just a moment, please," Sara said as she made her way down the hall to meet the man headed her way.

The POstables and Hasletts stood silently and caught bits of their conversation.

"What do you mean she's gone?" they heard Sara ask.

"This letter—she had my sister bring it to me," he said, embittered.

"Must be the groom," Oliver whispered quietly.

"Yes," Shane agreed, "and this does not look good."

"Nope!" Norman chimed in, shaking his head.

"Not at all…." Rita expressed dismally.

Sara and the frustrated groom started walking toward the sanctuary. When they reached the three couples, Shane introduced herself and Oliver, as well as the other couples.

"They're looking for Tori," Sara told him.

"Apparently, so am I!" he retorted, wiping his hand across his forehead, then instantly showing regret. "I'm sorry. It's just that she seems to have changed her mind _on our wedding day_. She left me this letter."

Clarice gasped audibly, while the others gaped at him with wide eyes.

"Would— Would you mind if we take a look at the letter?" Rita requested. "Just to see if we can help somehow?"

"Letters are our specialty," Norman added with a nod.

"Go ahead—be my guest." The groom handed Rita the letter. She opened the envelope and began reading.

 _"'Dearest Ellis,_

 _I can't walk down that aisle today. You probably won't understand why I'm doing this, but believe me, it's for the best. I am heading out to start over again and you should move on, too. Please, if you love me, just let me go._

 _Thank you for everything,_

 _Tori'"_

"Oh, dear," Oliver said.

"How long have you known Tori?" Dalbert questioned Ellis.

"I've known her for about seven years now. It took her three years to agree to a date and almost that long to accept my proposal. We've had a few break-ups here and there—and it was _always_ her," Ellis lamented. "Several weeks ago, she had wanted to elope, but we compromised so that my family and a few friends could attend the ceremony. I should have agreed. But everything seemed fine last night at the rehearsal. Something must have happened between then and now to change her mind. Who knows."

"I have a hunch," Shane piped up.

The others looked at her in bewilderment.

"First of all, do you have _any_ idea where she could be headed?"

"I don't know," Ellis said. "But she's made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want me to follow her."

"You don't have to follow her. We will," Shane told him, nodding her head toward the others.

They looked at her in shock but nodded in agreement.

"As you know, we have a special delivery for her, and it just might bring her right back to the church….to you. Don't give up on her just yet," Shane pleaded. "Where should we check for her?"

Ellis gave them her address. "I would imagine that she is packing everything up. It always takes her a few hours to get her things together before moving. But I don't know where she would be headed because she hadn't accepted another assignment."

"By any chance, is she a traveling nurse?" Oliver inquired.

"Yes," Ellis confirmed.

Oliver flashed a rigid smile. "We just have to keep following our hunches, everyone. Mr. Marble, there are no guarantees, but we will do what we can to get her back to you today."

The three couples set out once again, leaving Ellis at the church. The Dormans and Hasletts were chatting loudly in the back while Oliver and Shane handled the navigation up front.

"The address is not far from here," Shane said after entering the information into her phone. "It's about eight miles. Let's go find Victoria and bring her back to Ellis and their wedding."

"Shane, our purpose was to deliver the album and letters," Oliver admonished in a hushed tone, "but you're hoping to change her mind."

"Delivering the baby book and letters and changing her mind are not exactly two separate things, Oliver," Shane whispered back to him.

As Oliver recalled the wedding day letter and Victoria's runaway note, he knew exactly what Shane had surmised.


	23. Chapter 23

"What if she's not there?" Shane worried.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Shane," Oliver told her.

A few minutes later, they located the apartment. Oliver parked the rental SUV on the street in front of Victoria's current residence.

"I just realized how startling this could be to her," Oliver remarked. "Shane and I will go first and see if she's here."

The others agreed, and the O'Tooles went to ring her doorbell. There was no answer. Oliver knocked on the door. Nothing.

"I guess she's not here," Shane murmured.

"I guess not," Oliver replied wistfully.

Once they were back inside the vehicle, Shane called the number that Ellis had given her. He answered on the first ring.

"Ellis, this is Shane. Tori's not answering the door. What kind of vehicle does she drive?"

A couple of seconds later, she turned to the others and told them, "We're looking for a silver Honda Accord. Do y'all see one?"

The driver and passengers all surveyed the parking area for any sign of that particular vehicle, but they didn't see one like it.

"We don't see her car here. Any other ideas?" Shane asked Ellis.

She listened for a few moments, then replied, "Okay, that makes sense. We'll see what we can do."

She hit the button to end the call and sighed.

"What did he say?" Oliver inquired.

"Well, apparently Victoria turned out to be a very gifted pianist—Ellis says she sight reads and plays by ear. There is a festival this weekend and she would have loved to have performed as she's done in the past, but they chose today for the wedding—"

"So that they would share an anniversary with her parents," Clarice chimed in.

"Yes," Shane asserted bleakly.

"As she was growing up, she and Martin often performed together at some of our local festivals," Clarice informed them. "She absolutely loved it."

Oliver and Shane smiled serenely at each other as they remembered the letter Martin had written when Victoria was born.

"So, she could definitely be at this festival as a spectator," Rita added.

"A plausible theory," Oliver replied. "We shall see."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the festival.

"Wow, this thing is huge," Norman remarked, as they entered.

"There are soooo many people," Rita commented. "Where could she be?"

"We have to find her. She needs to be back to that church as soon as possible." Shane's anxiety was building.

After the group looked around for about thirty minutes, Shane stopped. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Norman asked Shane.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little flustered," she admitted. "Not to mention that it's extremely hot."

"It is soooo hot," Rita concurred.

"But I just have this feeling that she's here." Shane was trying her best to remain optimistic.

Oliver spoke up. "We've come this far. I'm not giving up hope just yet."

They decided to split up. Shane and Oliver set off in one direction, while the Dormans and the Hasletts went in another. After thirty more minutes of searching, Shane was ready to call it quits.

"This is insane. Talk about a needle in a haystack. And maybe she's not even here after all," Shane whimpered. "Maybe we should go back to her apartment. Oliver, what if—what if we don't find her in time?"

"Oh, honey." He calmed her, pulling her close to his side. "I believe we will."

In the background, the noise level was loud, but beautiful instrumental music rang out over the speakers. When the song had ended, the crowd cheered and a man's voice boomed over the microphone. "Let's give it up for Ms. Tori McKnight!"

Shane and Oliver looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Oliver, that was her, on stage!" Shane exclaimed.

"Come on," Oliver commanded, taking Shane's hand in hers and guiding her through the crowd. By the time they made it to the entertainment area, Tori was nowhere to be found.

"She had on a lavender top," Shane told Oliver loudly. "I saw her as she was leaving the stage."

As soon as Shane informed him of that detail, Oliver spotted Victoria in the distance. They walked quickly until they were within a few feet of her, on the outskirts of the large gathering.

"Ms. McKnight?" Oliver called.

Tori turned around and gave them a sad smile. "Yes?"

Oliver glanced at Shane.

"That was beautiful back there," Shane told her.

"Thank you," she returned.

"My name is Shane O'Toole, and this is my husband Oliver. We're with the United States Postal Service. We've been trying to locate you for several days now. We have something of value that belongs to you."

Tori furrowed her brows. "Oh, really?"

Shane reached into her bag and pulled out the baby book. "Here you go. It's from your father."

"No," Tori claimed, shaking her head. "It can't be."

But she took the album anyway, and when she opened it, the tears began to flow.

"I have never seen this," she managed to say. "How did you— Where—"

"It somehow found its way into the archives of the Denver Public Library," Oliver informed her. "You have a lot of beautiful, special memories to reflect on in there. We took the liberty of combing through the album trying to find clues to lead us to you. We apologize, but otherwise…."

"No, it's fine," Tori whispered quietly, her eyes puffy.

"There's more, Tori. Your father wrote you a number of letters," Shane told her.

"What? _Letters_?" Tori questioned in disbelief.

"Yes. There are several. You can take the time to read them all later, but this one—" Shane said as she reached into the pocket of the last page and pulled out the wedding day letter, "—this one is urgent. I think you should read it right now."

Tori eyed the letter, and her voice hitched as she read the envelope. "'For your wedding day.'" She sniffled and looked back at the O'Tooles. "I can't read this one yet."

"But isn't today your wedding day?" Shane asked.

"It was. But I've called it off," Tori stated resolutely.

"Why?" Shane inquired, looking Tori deep in her eyes.

Tori closed her eyes, shook her head, then looked off into the distance.

"Because you can't bring yourself to walk down that aisle," Shane prompted, her eyes filling up. "Not without your Daddy."


	24. Chapter 24

Tori sighed as more tears escaped down her cheeks.

"My Daddy—" Tori attempted to talk. She swallowed. "My Daddy was my world. He was the one person I could count on. We were inseparable. One day, when I was 17, we were having a conversation over dinner and I looked into his eyes. Something didn't look right, and my heart started breaking. I knew he was sick. He fought so hard. He took the treatments. He even tried experimental surgeries in Mexico, and that still didn't save him. The next Father's Day, of all days, I held his hand in the hospital as he slipped away."

Shane and Oliver looked at her with sympathetic eyes. Oliver's eyes were watering, but Shane's were already a steady waterfall.

"So, no, I can't walk down that aisle alone, and I can't risk losing someone else I love."

"You're afraid that you're going to lose Ellis, too," Shane stated. "By making a decision to leave now, that puts you in control and not subjected to possible pain later on."

Tori blinked back the tears and closed her eyes.

Shane looked at Oliver and sighed, then back at the broken-hearted young lady standing in front of her. "I've been there, Tori. I didn't have the relationship with my dad that you had with yours. You loved greatly, and you experienced loss. I didn't love as greatly as I should, but I experienced that loss anyway. You know that saying, 'It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all'? There is some truth to that. I can relate, though, because I know what it's like to have dreams and expectations and to have them crushed and then to feel completely broken and hopeless. But He will see you through. He will give you a hope and a future, if you will just let Him. He will send people along the way to help you. He already has. Think about Ellis and his family. God is giving you a gift _right now_ —your own family. Embrace it, Tori. Don't let the painful part of your past keep you from future blessings."

Tori had stood there, grasping the baby book and letter tightly to her chest, taking in every word. Now she appeared deep in thought.

"Read the letter, Tori," Oliver coaxed her in his deep, soothing voice.

Tori looked at Oliver, then at Shane. "Will you read it to me?"

"Of course," Shane consented, hesitantly. She took the envelope from Tori, and with slightly unsteady hands, pulled out the letter and began reading.

 _"'My beloved Victoria,_

 _I am writing this letter in advance, in the hopes that when this day comes, it will bring you great comfort. I'm so sorry that I can't be there for you today as I had hoped. Your mom would have wanted to be here for you as well—she loved you so. But life does not always go as planned._

 _My sweet girl, I'm no longer physically with you, but I know you will carry me with you always. Don't hesitate to walk down that aisle. As long as you know in your heart that you are marrying the one God has prepared for you, the one that you and I both have been praying for, walk down the aisle to your love, your earthly home. God will guide your steps—today and from this day forward. I was there when you made the most important decision you will ever make, and it was the honor of a lifetime to walk you down the aisle then. As special as your wedding day will be, that day years ago is truly significant._

Victoria was sobbing relentlessly. Shane stopped and wiped the tears from her eyes. Oliver took the letter and continued reading.

 _"Don't be afraid to live your life and to love with everything you have. So go get married! Have a family if you choose, and I hope you do, because that love is like no other. But no matter where life takes you, and no matter what obstacles you face, lean on Him. Take care of others, but don't forget to take care of yourself._

 _You are strong and independent, and I am extremely proud of you. Please remember that I love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more. I hope that you have found someone who understands this divine truth. Put God at the center of your marriage and you will be full of joy._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Without a word, Tori handed the album to Oliver, and then turned to wrap her arms around Shane as she wept. Oliver watched wordlessly as Shane comforted Victoria for several seconds.

Pulling back from Shane, Victoria wiped her eyes and said, "I'm so sorry. Here I am, a total stranger, blubbering all over you."

Shane looked sympathetically at Victoria. "We're not total strangers. And you have no reason to apologize. You _do_ love Ellis, don't you?" Shane asked her.

Tori nodded.

"You don't have to run anymore, Tori," Oliver urged her. "It's time to find your home."


	25. Chapter 25

The three couples met back at the SUV and began the short trip back to the hotel.

"It is just too hot down here," Shane remarked.

Oliver laughed. "You know, that reminds me of a freezing cold day back in Colorado a few years ago when you said you would rather be anywhere but there."

"I stand corrected," Shane returned. "This is ridiculous!"

Oliver grinned, adjusting the vents to send air directly to Shane. "I distinctly remember that phrase as well."

Shane gulped the bottle of water that Oliver had bought her on the way out of the festival grounds. "Yep, from one extreme to the other. I prefer middle ground."

"You, my dear, rarely prefer middle ground," Oliver responded, still laughing.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shane retorted.

"You're passionate. Remember what I told you about that," Oliver whispered with a wink.

Shane blushed.

They made it back to the hotel to cool off and get dressed for the evening's events. Victoria had insisted that Oliver and Shane attend the wedding and reception, as well as the Dormans. Fortunately, the Hasletts' paths had not crossed with Victoria at the festival, so their visit remained a secret until time for the ceremony.

"I guess we really are crashing the wedding," Clarice commented with a chuckle as they entered the hotel.

"Well, I think you two should go see the bride a few minutes beforehand," Shane suggested. "It would mean a lot for her to know that you're there."

"I hope so," Clarice replied.

"I know so!" Shane exclaimed with a grin.

A couple of hours later, Oliver was tying his tie when Shane stepped out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a knee-length, off-the-shoulder royal blue dress and her hair flowed easily around her shoulders. Oliver did a double-take, and forgetting about the tie, turned to her.

"Shane, you are absolutely breathtaking," Oliver complimented her, an expression of adoration written in every one of his facial features.

She smiled. "Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself. Want me to tie your tie?"

"Oh, sure," he told her as they closed the distance between them. "I was working on it, but I, uh, got a little distracted."

Shane laughed as she finished his tie. "There! It's perfect."

"Yes," he agreed, gazing at her face inches from his. "It sure is."

Their eyes locked. Then Shane's phone dinged and Oliver sighed.

"It's already five o'clock anyway, Oliver," Shane teasingly chastised him with a sly grin.

He grimaced at her playfully.

Shane checked her phone. "It's Rita. She said they will be ready in five minutes. Let's go, wedding crasher." She winked at him and they headed out the door.

A little while later, the O'Tooles, Dormans, and Clarice were all sitting near the front of the church, waiting for the ceremony to begin. It was a small, intimate gathering of no more than thirty people. The sanctuary was simply but elegantly decorated with white tulle and exquisite flower arrangements.

"Hey, where's Dalbert?" Norman asked.

"Oh, he'll be here in a few minutes," Clarice responded, her eyes sparkling.

Sure enough, after the wedding ceremony began, Dalbert made his way down the aisle, escorting an angelic young brunette who only had eyes for her groom. Shane, Rita, and Clarice all cried at the sight of them. Oliver and Norman were slightly misty-eyed, too.

The ceremony began and the couple began to recite the vows they had written one another. Oliver reached for Shane's hand and she continued wiping her eyes with her free hand. As the groom was finishing his vows to his bride, he told Victoria, "I will spend the rest of my life loving you to the best of my ability….but you and I both know that God loves you exceedingly more."

Shane gasped quietly, looking at Oliver, and the tears rolled harder. He squeezed her hand and looked back at her, tears threatening to fall from his own eyes. They knew beyond a doubt that God had orchestrated every single detail for this marriage to occur, just as he did for their own.


	26. Chapter 26

After the wedding, everyone gathered at the reception hall. The room was completely captivating—dimly lit and romantic. There was a full buffet, cakes, a band, and a dance floor.

A few minutes later, the POstables and Hasletts were seated at a round table covered by a white tablecloth and decorated with tulle and flower arrangements similar to those in the sanctuary. They were enjoying food from the buffet when the newlyweds approached. The men stood as the young couple sat down, Ellis helping Victoria with her cumbersome dress.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Marble," Oliver told them, with an ear-to-ear grin.

"You make a beautiful couple," Rita complimented them.

"Yes," Shane agreed. "And the ceremony was very lovely."

"Thank you," Victoria said graciously. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I don't know where to begin. I owe each of you a debt of gratitude."

"You don't owe us anything, Mrs. Marble," Oliver told her.

"As much as I love—and I mean, _love_ —the sound of that, please call me Tori," she responded, grinning.

They all laughed and Ellis kissed his new bride quickly on the cheek.

"I just—I don't know where to begin. Ellis didn't mention any of this, so I've been completely surprised today, by everything."

"I requested that of him," Shane informed her. "We wanted you to have this as a wedding day gift—one that you will always remember."

"Oh, I won't forget this, for sure," Tori spoke softly, trying to hold back the tears. "I, uh, I had a really hard time after Daddy died. I felt like I had lost myself, you know? I pushed through college but stayed in my little corner, detached from people as much as possible. Then when I graduated nursing school, I worked for a few months and found this position as a traveling nurse. I felt like it was perfect—no strings attached, just work a couple months here and then move there. I didn't have to worry about losing anyone because I didn't _have_ anyone. But I knew it really wasn't curing the grief that I felt. Then I met Ellis, and he—well, he slowly but surely started to bring me around."

" _Very_ slowly," Ellis interjected, and they chuckled again.

"Yeah, at a snail's pace." She grinned. "Ellis brought me back to church again. After a while, I finally agreed to marry him, but I wanted to elope. I thought it might make missing my Daddy a little less painful."

"But you didn't tell me that," Ellis whispered in shock.

"I know. And it's okay. This is what was meant to be. I am surrounded by family and love and I now have restored hope and faith—all the things that my Daddy always told me really mattered."

She paused and looked at the Hasletts, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for running away. You were always there for me, and I don't know—it was just easier to disconnect myself from everyone. I do love you both, so much."

"Aww, honey, we love you too," Clarice consoled her. "I'm just so glad that these wonderful people found out about your wedding just in time and let me know about it. I was worried how you would feel about us 'crashing' your wedding." Clarice laughed a little.

Tori looked confused. "But you're not 'crashing' our wedding. I sent you an invitation."

Clarice seemed relieved. "Oh? I never got it."

The POstables exchanged thoughtful glances.

"Tori," Shane spoke up. "How many invitations did you happen to send out to the Colorado area?"

"Only the one—to Nana and Pop," Tori replied. "I don't really have any connections out that way any more."

"Ahhh," Oliver expressed, pulling the ripped and mangled envelope with the photo card out of his pocket. "By process of elimination, it has been determined that this correspondence was originally intended to be delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Dalbert Haslett. We are terribly sorry, but it seems that it somehow ended up in the possession of a canine and run over by a sedan a couple of times."

"But not necessarily in that order," Norman pointed out.

"That is true," Oliver agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. He handed the envelope to Clarice.

"Oh, my goodness!" Tori exclaimed. "I have a few extras, Nana. I'll be happy to replace that one."

Clarice beamed with relief as Oliver handed her the ripped and mangled invitation.

"So you're telling me, that in the middle of this baby book investigation, our wedding invitation somehow ended up in your Dead Letter Office?" Ellis asked, incredulous. "That's bizarre."

"That's divine delivery," Oliver corrected him.

The couples around the table smiled at Oliver's summation, as the newlyweds were called to the floor for their first dance.


	27. Chapter 27

Immediately after the bride and groom's first dance, everyone else was invited to join in. The Hasletts went right away, Dalbert stealing a dance with Tori and Clarice with the groom. Rita had compelled Norman to go as well.

"Mrs. O'Toole, may I?" Oliver requested, extending his hand.

"Absolutely, Mr. O'Toole," Shane replied with a broad smile, taking his hand and his lead to the floor.

They fell into their natural rhythm immediately, as they were comfortable with the steps and with each other. The beat to the next song was similar to "And So It Goes" and they wordlessly began their routine. They were drawing attention from the crowd, too, but to Oliver and Shane, it almost felt as though they were the only ones in the room.

Oliver dipped Shane and when he raised her back up, she tightened her grip on his back and hand, keeping her feet firmly planted and closing her eyes.

"Sweetheart?" Oliver asked. "What is it?"

"Uh, we have an audience," she opened her eyes and responded quietly, just as those surrounding them began to applaud.

"We sure do," he grinned at the bystanders then whispered in her ear. "Are we just going to stand here?"

"I'm out of practice. Honestly, the room is spinning a little," she admitted softly as she closed her eyes again and swallowed. "Can you just hold onto me?"

"Of course," Oliver promised, eyeing her with concern. "I've got you."

Much to Shane's relief, that song ended right away, and thankfully, the next one that the band played was a slow song. Oliver placed his hands behind Shane's waist and she leaned into his strong hold, her head on his shoulder. A couple of minutes later, she looked up and gazed into his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I just love this," Shane commented with a smirk. "We should find more weddings to crash."

Oliver laughed. "You and I can always find opportunities to dance, Shane." He stared into her beautiful blue eyes, which sparkled against her royal blue dress. It reminded him of the one she wore when they first danced in the Dead Letter Office, when he wasn't in a position to claim her heart just yet but wanted to so badly. "I'm pretty sure I've already told you this, but you look absolutely stunning tonight. You truly do take my breath away. I'm so proud to call you my wife."

"Aww, thanks, honey," Shane responded. "That's so sweet. You're being awfully romantic tonight."

"But I really do mean it, Shane," Oliver asserted, then paused, deep in thought. "You know, this whole case has made me reflect on a lot lately."

"Oh?" Shane inquired.

"Yes. You weren't the only one impacted. It's made me think hard about past, present, and future."

Shane stared into his eyes, waiting for an inevitable Oliver speech.

"I want you to know that I am still very much in love with you, and I always will be. I am unequivocally grateful for you….for us. I cannot imagine a life without you in it." He kissed her tenderly, then added, "I never want things to change."

As Shane listened, her heart raced, flipped, and then sank. Without saying a single word, she placed her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes to mask those pesky tears welling up again.


	28. Chapter 28

Their return flight arrived in Denver early Sunday morning. After wishing the Hasletts well, the O'Tooles dropped Norman and Rita off and then headed home. A few hours later, Oliver suited up again and sat down on the bed beside Shane, who had dozed off. He gazed adoringly at her, pushing strands of hair from her face behind her ear. She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't stir.

"Oh, my goodness," Oliver spoke quietly to himself. In that moment, he was overcome with emotion as he studied her. She was ravishing—and he was engulfed by gratitude for her and the life they had made together.

He didn't want to leave her, but he had promised to spend time with his dad for Father's Day. He wrote her a note and left it on the bedside table, then he kissed her on the cheek and left, locking her inside. Oliver and Joe attended the church service and ate lunch at a favorite diner.

"So, how's Shane?" Joe asked.

"I think she's going to be okay," Oliver told him. "She needs plenty of rest right now. That baby book thing took a lot out of her."

Joe nodded. "I bet you're glad it's over."

" _That_ is an understatement," Oliver remarked, and they chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's still asleep."

"She'll want some lunch, right?" Joe asked.

"I'm not sure. Unfortunately, she experienced a bout of motion sickness on the flight home this morning. But she hasn't been eating a whole lot lately anyway."

Joe furrowed his brow at Oliver. "What's going on?"

Oliver proceeded to tell his Dad about Shane's emotions regarding Victoria's album. "All of that, on top of the fact that Father's Day was approaching, not to mention that this is the time of year when she lost her dad—it's just a lot to process."

"I understand. But if she's not feeling better soon, I'd take her to a doctor."

Oliver smiled. "She'll be fine, Dad. But I promise, I will take care of her."

"You better," Joe warned, "or I'm coming after you."

Oliver chuckled and smiled warmly at the thought of how much Joe O'Toole loved his daughter-in-law.

Before leaving the diner, Oliver had decided to phone Shane. He hated to wake her but knew she needed to try to eat something.

"Hello?" she answered drowsily.

"Hi, sweetheart," Oliver greeted her. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine now—just sleepy," she replied.

"Do you want me to bring you some lunch?" Oliver inquired.

"Lunch?!" Shane exclaimed. "What time is it?"

"It's a little after one o'clock," Oliver told her.

"Oh, my goodness! I slept through the service! Why didn't you wake me, Oliver?"

"You needed to rest, Shane. It's been a busy few days and you were sick just a few hours ago."

"Oh, Oliver, I'm so sorry," Shane said.

"Don't be. It's okay—Dad and I just finished up at the diner. Tell me what you want and I'll bring it home."

After Shane's order was ready, the two gentlemen left the restaurant and headed to Oliver and Shane's residence. By the time they got there, Shane was up and bright-eyed. She cast a glowing smile at the two of them as they entered the house.

"Hello, Shane!" Joe said.

"Hi there! Happy Father's Day!" she told him as they hugged.

"Thank you. We've enjoyed some father-son bonding time, but of course, you were missed. You look radiant, by the way," Joe said, eyeing her suspiciously, then looking back at Oliver, who raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Thanks! I certainly had no intention of missing the church service today, but _someone_ decided not to wake me up," she said as she punched Oliver in the shoulder.

"I was only thinking of your well-being, my dear," Oliver said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Here's your turkey sandwich with a fruit cup. I'm surprised you didn't want your usual—tuna."

Shane laughed tensely as she took the bag. "Oh, well, you know—I can't eat tuna every day. Thank you for this. I'm famished!"

Shane ate while the men chatted. Joe spent the afternoon with them—he lounged in the recliner and Oliver and Shane took the loveseat. They talked for a while and reminisced over old photos that Oliver had asked Joe to bring to share with Shane. The afternoon went by quickly, and around five o'clock, Joe decided to head home.

After seeing his father out the door, Oliver returned to the living room and sat down again on the loveseat with his wife, pulling her close to his side.


	29. Chapter 29

"How are you, Shane?" Oliver questioned, taking her hand in both of his.

"I'm okay. I feel much better now that I'm on land." Shane chuckled.

Oliver nodded and stared her down.

"What?" Shane inquired.

"Nothing," Oliver responded, shaking his head. "I have something for you," he told her. He went into the bedroom, retrieved a wrapped box, and sat back down beside her. He handed the present to her, his eyebrows raised.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Open it," he directed, a twinkle in his eyes.

"What is this?" Shane questioned, flabbergasted, as she pulled out an album wrapped in fabric.

"It's a baby book," Oliver replied simply.

"Don't tell me we need to track down the owner." Shane grimaced at her husband.

Oliver laughed. "No. I was in the bookstore a few days ago and I just happened to peruse the section of memory books. I saw this one, and I thought it would be perfect for us to use one day."

Shane ran her hand over the outer fabric of the album. "Our Special Delivery," she read. She looked back at Oliver with a slight smile, her eyes pooling up again, much to her chagrin. "So what does this mean? Are you saying that you are ready for the next chapter in our lives?"

"I am ready," he affirmed confidently. "Whenever it does happen."

Shane was contemplative. "But last night, you said that you never wanted things to change."

"Oh, honey, no," Oliver soothed her, rubbing her back. "I just meant that I want _you_ for the rest of my life. I never want to lose you, what we have together."

"Oh," Shane sighed with relief.

Oliver looked at her patiently once again. She bit her lip.

"But this would change a lot. Do you really—I mean, _really_ , want a baby?"

Oliver was thoughtful for a few moments. Then he abruptly stood and went into the next room. Shane sat motionless on the couch, feeling dazed and numb, but before she had the chance to become a blubbering mess, Oliver had returned. He sat on the loveseat beside her and without saying a word, handed an envelope to Shane.

She looked at it, then back at her husband. "You wrote me a letter?"

"No," Oliver told her, shaking his head. "But I want you to read this anyway."

Shane's hands were trembling, but she slipped the contents out of the envelope and unfolded them. It _was_ a letter, in Oliver's handwriting. She gasped a little when she read the greeting.

 _"'My dear little one,_

 _Today I found out about you, and my whole world has changed, once again.'"_

Shane stopped and looked at Oliver, baffled.

 _"'It's difficult to find the words to adequately describe how I feel, but I'm going to try. For years I have desired to have a family—and for a while, I thought it might never happen. Then I met your mother.'_

 _"'First she was standing in line behind me at the coffee stand, then she was directed to me for training in the Dead Letter Office. It didn't take long for me to know that she was the one I had been waiting for my whole life. In His perfect timing, our love grew and then we were married.'_

 _"'Your mother is beautiful, compassionate, intelligent, and loyal, with a great sense of humor and curiosity….but her tenacity—that attracted me instantly. When she sets her mind to something, you just know she will see it through, no matter what. I love her beyond words and I always will.'"_

Shane was sobbing. In true Oliver fashion, he took the letter from her and continued reading.

 _"'I feel overwhelmed, in the best way possible. Overwhelmed that He loves us enough to send us you. Overwhelmed that after being on my own for so long, I now have a wife and a baby on the way—my own little family to love and cherish. Overwhelmed that I am going to be a father and overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.'_

Oliver paused as tears began flowing from his eyes. He cleared his throat and continued in a raspy voice.

 _"'I pray that you will stay safe and grow healthy and strong, and I promise to do what I can to take care of you and your mother, especially over the next several months. I also pray that one day you will find the faith that your mother and I have. I promise you, it will see you through the biggest challenges of life. Once you have that faith, you'll understand what we mean when we say, "Trust the timing."'_

 _"'Today when I looked at your gorgeous mom sleeping soundly, peaceful and glowing, I just knew. God is giving us an incredible blessing—our very own divine delivery—and I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. My precious baby, we love you more than you can ever imagine….but God loves you abundantly more._

 _Eternally,_

 _Daddy'"_

Oliver looked up from the letter and directly into Shane's eyes. They were full of emotion—but he saw mostly happiness and contentment.

"You wrote this today?" she whispered.

"I did," he responded quietly. "Am I….correct?"

Shane stared hard at him, biting her lower lip again, tears cascading down her cheeks. Finally she nodded. "Yes, Oliver. Yes. We're having a baby."

Oliver blew out the deep breath he had been holding and a huge grin crossed his face. "Oh, sweetheart. Come here." He pulled his wife into a warm embrace as she laughed with joy and relief. He held her for a few seconds, then raising his head and gazing into her eyes, he told her, "Thank you for saving my life _and_ making me the happiest man in the world."

Shane had difficulty speaking. "Thank you for giving this day a brand new meaning for me," she said through the tears. "Happy Father's Day, Oliver."

Oliver laughed, and his voice was filled with emotion. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"Maybe?" Shane challenged, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Well, then, I certainly intend to show you, Mrs. O'Toole," Oliver vowed, then kissed her passionately but tenderly, leaving no room for her to have any doubts.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _I have been a fan of Signed, Sealed, Delivered since the premiere of the Pilot. It is a rare thing for a television series to be as entertaining and as inspiring as this one, but it has excelled in both categories. This captivating series not only hooked me from the very beginning, making me want to see more of the POstables on my screen, but it has motivated me to see the world in a different light and has changed my life forever._

 _A couple of years after the show first aired, I found an amazing group of fans on Twitter, and we became forever family (that in itself is a blessing that keeps on giving). An interesting thing happened only a couple of months after I began my interactions with the other "POstables" online. As I was scrolling my Facebook feed one day, I noticed a post by my local library, here in Alabama, stating that they had discovered a baby book in their archives. They were looking to track down the "baby"—a woman who had been born in the 1960s. Within the post, they had provided her full maiden name and her parents' names, but no one was acknowledging that they had ever known the family._

 _I was inspired by Signed, Sealed, Delivered to help the library locate the owner of this baby book. I began doing some research online and within just a few hours, I had put together the puzzle pieces and found her—with a married surname and living thousands of miles away in Alaska. Once I relayed this information, the library was able to make contact and ship the woman's baby book to her. She was beyond thrilled, and I was honored to have been a part of that reconciliation._

 _A few weeks ago, I was inspired to write a fan fiction story based on this idea of a lost baby book. The story also has a few elements from my own life, as I experienced the loss of my father shortly after I graduated from high school. He was buried on Father's Day, and for years, that season brought with it an agonizing remembrance of the most difficult time of my life. Somehow, writing this story was therapeutic—it helped me to put into writing an example of how God can take something painful and turn it into something truly beautiful in the end._

 _Thank you for reading my story. It was such a pleasure to write and share with you!_

 **Please follow POstables Unscripted (POstaUnscripted) on Twitter for the latest news on our writing and updates for other #SSD writings as well!**


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue (by request)

"So, I have another question," Oliver told Shane.

Shane smiled and raised her eyebrows. "How long have I known?"

Oliver laughed. "Yes, how long have you known?"

"I knew that was coming." She chuckled and pursed her lips. "I honestly didn't know until Friday afternoon, right after we boarded the plane. The doctor's office had called and left me a voicemail. I've listened to it probably a dozen times since then to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I'll let you hear it, but basically, she just said that all my bloodwork looked great and that the doctor had wanted to cover his bases with the tests, and surprise, you're pregnant!"

Oliver grinned. "So was that the voicemail to which you were referring when you so abruptly left breakfast Saturday morning?"

"Yes, but I needed fresh air. The eggs were making my stomach turn." She grimaced.

"Oh, no. Morning sickness?" Oliver asked.

"I think so. It's hit two days in a row now. I might have to start getting up earlier to allow for sick time before work," Shane pouted.

"Well, the boss will just have to make special allowances for things like that," Oliver stated.

"Do you think he'll be that understanding?" Shane pretended to ponder.

"Well, he should be, since he is the one responsible for causing it in the first place…." Oliver smirked.

Shane giggled. "I'm hoping there's something I can take for the nausea so it won't completely shut me down. Whatever would you do without your tech girl?"

"I told you I never want to find out," he reminded her, planting a kiss on her forehead. He appeared thoughtful. "When _did_ you manage to go to the doctor without me knowing?"

"Oh! While you were in the department meeting on Friday morning. I really just went to see about getting a prescription for my emotional mess. I'm pretty sure I've cried more in the last two weeks than I have in my whole life—and that's saying a lot."

Oliver laughed again. "I bet there's more to come, but you, my dear, can cry me a river whenever you feel like it."

Shane grinned and shook her head. "You might change your mind. I've annoyed myself. But believe me—when it happens, it's just uncontrollable. Anyway, he just wanted to check some things before prescribing anything. We didn't even discuss the possibility of pregnancy, so the voicemail really surprised me, but once I thought about it, it made sense. I'm sorry I kept it a secret this long—I wanted to tell you so badly, but the weekend was kind of crazy and the timing was never right. We didn't have a whole lot of alone time and I didn't want to rush it."

"And then last night, when I said I didn't want things to change…." Oliver trailed off.

"Yeah. I started feeling insecure," Shane responded. "But your letter made it all better."

Oliver kissed her again.

"So what now?" Oliver asked, still holding Shane in his arms.

"Well, I'm glad that we have the day off tomorrow, because you and I are going to get our first glimpse of our little one," Shane replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What? We get to see it?" Oliver inquired.

"Uh-huh. Unless it's too early. But they said they would give it a try. I have an appointment at ten o'clock." She squealed.

"That is excellent, sweetheart," Oliver stated cheerfully.

"I'm so excited! I can't wait to see our baby," Shane said joyfully.

"Our baby," Oliver repeated, looking lovingly into her eyes. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too." Shane smiled. "Once we know everything is good, I'd say we can go ahead and tell Norman and Rita….and your dad but—"

"He already knows," they said in unison, laughing.

"Yeah, that was pretty obvious to me," Shane commented.

"Me, too," Oliver agreed. "He's going to be thrilled when we make it official, though."

"I know he will," Shane asserted. "He'll be the best Papa O'Toole there ever was."

* * *

The next morning, the two set out for the ultrasound. Shane was nervous but Oliver calmed her fears by assuring her that everything would be fine. Sure enough, the doctor was able to get a clear view of the fetus and its heartbeat.

"There's your baby," the doctor said with a grin, turning the screen so that the O'Tooles could get a better view. "And see that strong little heartbeat? Everything looks great."

"Oh, wow," Oliver remarked, fascinated and overcome with emotion as he looked at the monitor. "That is phenomenal!"

Shane was struggling to see from her position, so Oliver helped her lean her upper body forward.

"Oh, my goodness, how beautiful!" she exclaimed, tears of happiness falling from her eyes.

"It sure is," the doctor replied. "I've seen plenty, but it never gets old. Always a miracle—every single one. I'll print you some pictures to take home." He turned the screen around and fiddled with the tools for another minute.

While he was busy, Oliver leaned down and gave Shane a short but sweet kiss. They were both overwhelmed at seeing the new little life they had created. Somehow, although it didn't seem possible, Oliver believed he loved his wife even more than before.

* * *

That evening, they met the Dormans for dinner at the Mailbox Grille. Shane and Oliver decided to wait a few minutes before sharing their news with Norman and Rita.

Ramon stopped by their table to greet them, and looking at Shane, he remarked, "Oh, my, the lovely Mrs. O'Toole is looking quite ravishing tonight. You have a certain glow, no?"

"Thank you, Ramon," Shane laughed nervously and Oliver cleared his throat.

"And the delightful Mrs. Dorman, just charming," Ramon continued. "You are also glowing, no?"

"Well…." Rita giggled and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Thank you, Ramon."

"Dinner will be served shortly," Ramon informed them and walked away from their booth.

"He is something else," Norman remarked when Ramon was out of earshot.

"Yes," they all agreed, chuckling.

"Actually," Oliver spoke up, "we do have some news to share with you. Shane?"

Norman and Rita glanced at each other and back to the O'Tooles.

"Well," she smiled and bit her lower lip in excitement. "Oliver and I just found out that we're having a baby!"

"No way!" Rita exclaimed.

"What?!" Norman added. "Seriously?"

"Oh, my goodness. This is just so exciting! I am very happy for you two," Rita told them.

"Thank you, Rita. We are ecstatic!" Oliver declared.

"You should be. And I think I know the perfect baby gift," she added, glancing at Norman with a smile.

"Oh, Rita, you don't have to give us a gift," Oliver insisted.

"Too late," Norman replied. "It's already ordered and on the way."

"What do you mean, Norman?" Shane asked, confusion written in every facial feature. "We just told you less than a minute ago. You've already gotten us a gift?"

"Well, as you know, a gift can come in many different forms, Shane," he responded. "I'm not sure that 'trust the timing' has ever meant as much as it does right now."

Oliver furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry—I'm still not following."

Rita grinned from ear to ear and said, "Apparently your little one needs a playmate."

"What?!" Shane practically shouted. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope, we're not kidders," Rita answered. "Not about this, anyway."

"It looks like Rita and I are starting our rainbow of babies as well," Norman announced with a huge smile.

Oliver and Shane stared at them with wide eyes, their mouths gaping.

"Didn't I tell you I wanted to raise our children together?" Rita reminded Shane.

Shane laughed as the tears started to flow again, and Rita became quite emotional as well.

"This is absolutely incredible," Oliver stated. "Congratulations all around!"

"I guess you and I get to learn all about fatherhood at the same time," Norman commented, still beaming.

"Yes, Norman," Oliver acknowledged, a proud and jubilant expression across his face. "We shall continue our journeys together."


End file.
